Blue Eyes: Unfilled Lives
by Wild Cat 214
Summary: Among the Unfilled, there is a saying: eyes of blue, a hero true. Jessie doesn't know if this idiom is really true, but meeting an angry young man with blue eyes can't be a coincidence, especially since he makes her nightmares get worse. Will she and Jak tear each other apart before they can stop the threats approaching their world? Rated T for language and my twisted mind.
1. Prologue: The Lodestar Prophecy

**Author's Notes: Yeah, I'm rewriting Blue Eyes. I didn't like the way it was going, and I had a much better idea for the plot than before. A warning: this will go in a much darker direction than before. And sorry to the people that favorited it.**

 **Please R &R!**

 **Disclaimer: I am not affiliated in any way with Naughty Dog, except as a player of their games. That is it. Only my OC's are my property. No canon characters are mine.**

* * *

" _Onin says, 'This prophecy was first spoken by Gemini when Haven City was first founded. Only dire circumstances could explain why you want to hear it.'" -Pecker speaking to the Vessels Joker Mitchell, Lucy Sagai, Gaea Tiersen, Jane Zenith, Leo Walsh, and Quentin Jackson_

* * *

 _Twenty years ago..._

The six Vessels crowded into the tent in the bazaar to hear the ancient words spoken by the first Unfilled of Haven City. Lumina and the other five Ecolian cardinals had warned them that they would need to hear these words soon, and so they had come to Onin and Pecker, easily the most learned in the affairs of the great Mar and the twins known simply as Gemini in the history books.

Joker and Lucy were at the front, watching Onin's hands glow with blue light and move in strange ways.

"Onin says that your hearing this prophecy could result in its commencement. Are you sure you want to continue?" Pecker warned, holding up a feather in Joker's face. He managed to avoid sneezing and nodded, brushing it away.

"Lumina, Umbra, Rubeus, Saffron, Viridis, and Azura all say the same thing. We need to know just what Gemini saw in our future, or else Haven City could be destroyed," he said resolutely. Onin nodded gravely.

"Very well. Here is the Lodestar Prophecy, as spoken by Gemini shortly before their disappearance with the great Mar." The moncaw cleared his throat before continuing.

"Light and Dark children,

Vessel, Eyes, and Sentinel.

Their Blue Eyes see true.  
...

The Lodestar Vessel,

Ecolians' only hope,

Shall face the Metal.

...

Eyes of the Lodestar,

Vision clouded by Eco,

Victim of the Dark.

...

Lodestar Sentinel,

Tempered with both Light and Dark,

Our world's last hero."

He paused to let that sink in.

"Wow. Gemini must have really liked haiku," Leo remarked casually. The others all shot a dirty look at him, even Onin.

"What? I'm just saying what's on everyone minds!" he protested, holding up his hands. They turned back to Onin, and this time it was Lucy's turn to speak.

"Onin, Pecker, what does it mean by the first line? 'Light and Dark children', what did Gemini intend with those words? Could they be talking about Joker and I?" she asked concernedly. Pecker shrugged his wings.

"Who knows? But there is one more thing. Gemini also said that the Vessel and the Eyes would be twins, just like them. They would be the most important of the Unfilled, and at the same time the most feared of their people because of their powers. If I were you, I would find these twins and keep them safe. Nothing good can come of a prophecy that talks about Metal and Dark," he cautioned. The six of them nodded and left the old woman and her translator in peace.

"Should I have told them?" he asked the ancient woman regretfully. She shook her head.

" _If you had, the timestream could have been irrevocably altered. Gemini warned us of the consequences if we did so,_ " she replied calmly.

"I know, I know. But it doesn't feel right, knowing that they were all going to die because they knew the prophecy and not warning them," he said, staring after the six Vessels.

Seventeen years later, Lucy Sagai, Joker Sagai, Gaea Tiersen, Jane Zenith, Leo Walsh, and Quentin Jackson would all die in the Dead Town Tragedy. Lucy and Joker would leave behind Jinx Mitchell, Joker's younger brother, and their two kids, Jessie and Jamie Sagai. No one would ever know why. Not until three years later...

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Yeah, short, but longer than before. Jessie is going to be a lot darker than before, instead of the bubbly girl she was in the first version. I'm leaving it up, mostly to remind myself to work better on my writing. And I'm going to make the whole Unfilled thing a lot more important.**

 **Wild Cat 214, out!**


	2. Chapter 1: Garage Gals

**Author's Notes: And so, we return from that slightly gruesome note to a war-torn city and its people. Also, I've decided to start off each chapter with a "quote" from people in the city. Maybe I'll do the same with the side story about Joker, Lucy, and Jinx. Actually, yeah, that's what I'll do.**

 **Disclaimer: When I own Naughty Dog, and thus Jak and Daxter, I'll let you guys know by throwing a big party. And then releasing some games of my own.**

* * *

" _Behind the scenes of the city's most popular sport are the grease moncaws of the garages. These valiant men and women keep the NYFE racers going in their thrilling race with death and each other, and if it weren't for their incredible mechanical skills, few would be able to enjoy the Mar Stadium races as they are today." -Phil Herman, spokesman for the NYFE races_

* * *

 _Present day..._

It was just your average day in Haven City, if you counted the large amount of KG in the streets, the weary populace, and the paranoia hanging in the air normal. Perfect for a day fixing hovers and cannibalizing them for parts.

At least, that's what Jessie would have thought, if she wasn't too busy focusing on avoiding traffic to notice the reports frequently buzzing into the KG com-units, or the frightened, tired faces of the pedestrians and other drivers. Her black helmet and tinted visor hid her black and pink hair and light blue eyes, but all the citizens recognized her. It wasn't hard to recognize the hoverbike of one of the city's famous racers, or her black vinyl racing uniform.

Jessie got off her black converted KG bike, flipped the parking brake, and walked into the garage of the Mar Memorial Stadium. The smell of grease, exhaust fumes, and metal greeted her, and a rare smile appeared on her face. The scents of machinery could cheer her up like nothing else, except perhaps the smell of smoke and gunpowder that followed her uncle Jinx around like a crocadog.

"Keira! I'm back!" she shouted into the cluttered garage. The teal-haired young woman looked out from behind the curtain at the far end and smiled.

"Jessie? Good! Get over here and help me with this," she called, gesturing with one hand to the strange machine hidden by the rough cloth. Jessie rolled her eyes, but took off her racing jacket (revealing a crisp white tank top), tied it around her waist, and joined the other girl.

"What is it, boss?" she asked, looking at the weird contraption. Keira rolled her eyes and pointed at a certain bolt.

"Don't call me that. I need you to hold it steady while I tighten this bolt. If we're not careful, the entire thing could fall apart," she explained, holding up the appropriate wrench.

"Yes, boss," the other girl replied mischievously. Keira rolled her eyes again. With Jessie holding that section still, the mechanic girl managed to tighten that one tiny piece and keep the entire thing together.

"Thanks."

"No problem, boss. What is this thing, anyway? Looks kind of like this one weird machine I saw in a history textbook once. I think it was called a Rift Rider, or something," Jessie asked, kneeling down and looking at it curiously. Keira sputtered in shock, then managed a nervous giggle.

"Oh, you. No, it's just a... project... I'm working on," she answered cryptically. Jessie rolled her eyes and stood up.

"Well, it won't matter in a few weeks." Keira sighed and gave her sad eyes.

"Are you sure about this, Jessie? You don't have to go if you don't need to," she said quietly. Jessie shook her head.

"I'm sure. We had a deal, Keira. If you get a new racer before the season began, I'd stay until the end of the season. I already gave Krew your criteria for the racer," she replied calmly. "It's just a matter of time before he or she arrives. And if you don't like the guy, you can always ask for someone else. Besides, Jamie could handle anyone that gave you trouble. He's tougher than he looks."

"Of course I am. I have you for a sister; I'd have to be tough to survive your cooking," a young man said from the entrance of the garage. The two women looked out to see a young man with light blue eyes and black hair streaked with light blue. It wasn't dyed, though. Their hair was completely natural. That was part of the reason why the other Unfilled were so wary of them. No normal human would have hair like theirs.

"Hi, Jamie. Nice of you to join the party," Jessie quipped. Her twin brother smirked at her and waved at Keira.

"Hey, Keira. I brought us some food from the Hip Hog," he said, holding up a plastic bag with some Styrofoam boxes inside. Probably held some of the Hoggy Meals that were almost certainly not good for you, but tasted better than most of the affordable food in Haven.

"You better have remembered my order," his sister said mock sweetly. The young man rolled his eyes and held out one box. In permanent black marker were the words "Triple Hoggy Burger, no cheese, only ketchup" scrawled in the familiar handwriting of the old cook, Jon Harris. Ah, yes. Jumpy Jon, one of the oldest and most entertaining people still alive in Haven City. He could bring a smile even to Jessie's jaded face.

"Thanks, bro. How was your other job?" she asked casually. Keira thanked him as he handed her a box with the words "Garden Salad, light dressing" in the same messy style as Jessie's meal, and gave them a clueless look. She had no idea that her two assistants/co-owners of the Muse Race Team were members of the Underground, sent to be Torn's eyes and ears in the Stadium. It didn't mean much action, but that was okay with them. Neither liked violence, especially not when it resulted in death, but that was only natural when you could feel the deaths of any Unfilled in the city. A religious community like theirs had its pros and cons, and being able to sense the pain of any other member was definitely of the latter variety.

Jamie shrugged and inhaled his food ("Turkhen HipNuggets with large fries") before answering.

"Ah, same as always. New guy came in while I was getting our food. Went out to do a job for Krew. Looked scary. I saw him a few days ago, in the Slums. Remember when that entire area was sealed off because some nut job escaped the Fortress?" he said nonchalantly. The two girls nodded.

"Oh yeah, I remember. Damn KG made it impossible for me to get home in time to catch a vid of the race I missed," Jessie remarked, taking a huge chunk out of her burger and glaring at a passing Guard. The red-armored man ignored her and went towards the garage for Erol. Nasty son of a crocadog, that one. Hell of a racer, but a huge pain in the ass. And unfortunately, Keira found him attractive, which meant poor Jamie could only pine after her like a puppy.

'I guess he is handsome, in a loopy sort of way,' Jessie grudgingly allowed.

Static from her boss' com-unit distracted her, and together the three listened to the caller.

"I've sent someone over, 'ey. He should be there in less than three minutes," Krew wheezed into the machine. Keira and Jessie shared a look. If this guy did make it, then today wasn't her last day on the job. It wasn't likely, though. Only two people (that she knew of) could make it from the Hip Hog Heaven Saloon to the Stadium in less than three minutes, and Jessie was one of them. Erol was the other, but there was no way in hell she would admit that.

Jamie chuckled.

"Okay, who came up with that one?" he asked, giving them each an amused, if pointed, look. Jessie grinned maliciously.

"Who do you think? I need to start up that business down in South Town, but not without making sure Keira was okay before I left. That's why I told Keira if she did get a racer, I'd stay for the rest of the season. I'm not leaving her at the tender mercies of some cutthroat racer from the underbelly of the city," she retorted. "Not that Keira can't take care of herself. Actually, I think I'd stay just to make sure she doesn't scare off the racer."

"Hey!" the subject of discussion objected.

"C'mon, Keira, let's work some more on that machine of yours. Time machine or not, it's just weird enough to have captured my attention," the girl twin said before pulling the other female mechanical genius behind the curtain with her.

"Jamie, please clean up our food! And can you check on the engine cables? I think we're running low," Keira called after giving in to Jessie's random urge to keep working. Actually, it was mostly so she could have some girl time with Keira before the racer arrived, but Jessie would never say that out loud. She didn't say a lot out loud.

"Can do," he replied, used to this sort of treatment. He didn't mind, though. Jamie worshiped Keira. If she told him to bring her the moon, he would do it. Probably put a little bow on it, too. Of course, he was only good with some of the smaller machinery of Haven, like com-units, headsets, etc., but that was why Jessie was here. She could handle weapons and hovers like they were no big deal. Together with Keira's incredible mind, they could build nearly anything, including one of the best NYFE racers seen in over a century.

 _Less than three minutes and a discussion on the traits of the newest hover on the market later..._

The sound of a hover screeching to a halt near the entrance to the race garage caught the attention of all three mechanics. Jamie checked the timer on his wrist communicator. It was at just a little before three minutes.

"Holy Precursors, he did it!" he murmured in awe. The two women didn't hear, or else they would have known they were about to have company in the form of a certain blond.

* * *

"Ah... hello? Krew said someone was looking for a race driver?" a young man said from the entrance of their garage. Jessie looked up from handing Keira tools and raised an eyebrow. Interesting. Someone could drive as fast as she could.

What was more interesting was Keira's reaction.

"We're busy right now," she said, apparently speaking for all three of them. "You must be Krew's new errand boys. Look, I don't mean to be rude, you did get here fast, but I'm not interested in any _new_ drivers right now, and we've got work to do..." she trailed off. It was painfully obvious she was trying to get him to leave, which was strange. If he didn't become their racer, Jessie would leave, and she was pretty sure Keira wouldn't want that just yet.

"What are you talking about? You just said you wanted a new racer!" Jessie hissed bemusedly.

"Shhh!"

"Is there anything we can do?" he asked huskily.

Ew. Was he actually flirting with them? Okay, Jessie was liking this guy even less now. Maybe Keira had been on to something when she had turned him down. She wasn't too fond of Krew, but most of his workers were okay. Take her uncle, Jinx, or Jumpy Jon, or Sig. Three of the best people in Haven, and they worked for a shady guy like Krew. But this one was giving her a weird feeling that wasn't entirely pleasant.

"No! We're... ah... working on a secret, ah, ah... 'vehicle project,'" the teal-haired girl stammered awkwardly. Jessie rolled her eyes. There was no reason to hide the fact that they were working on something weird, even if the guy was one of Krew's men.

"Okay. Sorry!" he said grumpily. The black-and-pink-haired girl pushed off of the bench she had been sitting on and went up to the curtain.

"Listen, if you think you've got the guts to race in this town, try taking our prototype JET-Board out on the Stadium course. Beat the Stadium challenge, and _maybe_ we'll consider you for our team," she taunted, pointing to the other side of the building. There was no answer, but eventually a pair of booted feet walked away. Jessie sighed.

"There. Problem solved. If he does manage to beat that, which I doubt, then I'll stay until the first race. If you don't have a racer before then, I'm going to South Town. Deal?" she proposed, holding out a gloved hand. Keira nodded, and the two of them shook on it.

"Deal. Now help me with this part. I need the tools handed to me quickly, or it could fall apart like that," her friend agreed, snapping her fingers for emphasis. Jessie grinned.

"Aw, but I like it when things are destroyed. Fine, fine, I'll make sure it doesn't break. Just don't ask too much of me." The two girls began working on what looked like the control panel for the "secret vehicle project" while Jamie dismantled a two-seater with terrifying speed.

* * *

Jessie and Keira were joking about the qualities of the average three-seater when the guy returned.

"We beat the Stadium challenge," he said proudly. Jessie winced, but she would hold up her end of the bargain. She would stay.

"Great! People do get lucky," she replied sarcastically. Keira shook her head and turned her cold gaze to where she figured the man was.

"Listen, don't you people have someone to collect money from, or beat up, or something?" she asked, desperately trying to get them to leave. Jessie nodded. That was usually what Krew's thugs did.

"You don't like us, do you?" he replied. Was that... hurt... in his voice? No, it couldn't have been. Krew didn't hire people for their feelings. He hired the toughest, scariest, most-likely-to-be-thrown-in-the-Fortress men and women he could find. In the case of women, they also had to be smoking hot. Thankfully, Jessie never needed to work for him.

"You work for that slime ball Krew. What's not to like?" Keira replied acidly. There were footsteps as the guy moved to the trophy wall. Jessie tensed up. If he put a single dent in the proof of how good she was...

"Looks like you've won a few races. Isn't it true the city champion gets to tour the palace?" the guy asked. She nodded slowly, then remembered he couldn't see her.

"Yeah... why?" she asked warily. What was this guy planning?

"Could you get me into the Palace?" Ah. That was what he wanted.

"A friendly visit, I gather," Keira said dryly.

"Yeah. I'm a real fan of the Baron," the man replied darkly. Jessie smirked. Maybe he wasn't all bad, if he wanted to get even with Praxis. The man was a tyrant, a usurper, and worst of all, he had imposed special taxes on the Unfilled for the Eco crystals they asked for. The Ecolians needed crystallized Eco if they were ever to become one with humans, like the Unfilled so desperately wanted. So yeah, Jessie hated the man. It was hard not to.

"Okay, I'll help you out, if you stop bothering us. I saw an old maintenance elevator at the base of one of the Palace support towers. That old lift might take up to the Palace, IF you can find a way to turn on the elevator's power. Try in the Industrial District. Now go away!" she revealed, holding up a wrench for added persuasion.

"Okay, okay, jeez. We're going," he said. And indeed, there was the sound of his feet going away. But strangely, there was only one pair. Who had been with him?

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Hey, there! Happy winter holidays, everyone! I'm gonna put the reviews down here, and talk about random stuff up top. So, without further ado...**

 **Guest (chapter 1, Dec. 24) – Thanks! And seeing as the original was a bit short on the details, I'll take your liking it as high praise for the work of a preteen.**

 **Wild Cat 214, out!**


	3. Chapter 2: The Moon and the Child

**Author's Notes: I had a hard time coming up with the title of this chapter, but eventually I managed to think up a good one. Do you like it?**

 **Anyways, since I had this typed up a bit early, I'm posting it just two days after my last update. That's right, TWO DAYS! What madness is this? You're gonna learn a lot about the Sagai family in this chapter, including some things that may surprise you. What is it? You will find out.**

 **Disclaimer: Sadly, Jak and Daxter is the property of Naughty Dog, not this "humble" author.**

* * *

 _"The pilots of the Air Trains are among the best in the world. Needing to memorize dozens of security clearance codes, every button, switch, and lever's purpose, and how to handle turbulence can do that to all the men and women that come out of flight academy. Now, I'm not saying that they're some of the most skilled people in Haven City, but let's face it. Pilots have to be at the top of their game if they want to keep their jobs." -David Lamarr, headmaster of Haven Flight School_

* * *

A beeping noise distracted Jessie from her thoughts, and she looked at her com-unit. It showed the familiar face of her friend, Luna. Black-fading-to-white ombre hair, deep red eyes, and a grin that struck fear into the hearts of lesser beings. Also one of Jessie's few Unfilled friends. That was Luna Zyan for you.

"Hey, Luna. What's up?" she asked, pushing the button to accept the call.

"What's up? Oh, I don't know, maybe ME! Where are you? I landed five minutes ago and you weren't here!" the older woman said worriedly. Jessie rolled her eyes.

"Sorry, Luna. I forgot you were getting in today and went to the garage. But I'll be there in three. Catch you later!" she said, ending the call before the pilot could go into a rant about the unreliability of friends. Luna was... many things... but chief among those was loyal, especially to Jessie. There was nothing she wouldn't do for her.

"Keira, I have to go. I promised Luna that once she got back from that run to Kras City for supplies, we'd go shopping for offerings together," she said apologetically. Keira smiled and waved her away.

"Go on, then. Don't worry about me. I've got Jamie if I need something. But one thing, Jessie. Can you swing by the Stadium and pick up the JET-Board for some cleaning? Who knows where that guy has stepped?" she requested. Jessie gave her a thumbs-up before backing out of the niche.

"Sure thing. But that doesn't mean I'm letting you off easy. We still need to talk about why you didn't want that guy for a racer," she said firmly, pointing at her for extra emphasis. Keira rolled her eyes and nodded.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Tomorrow, maybe?" the teal-haired young woman asked. Her friend shrugged.

"If I have time after visiting the temple, dropping off the JET-Board, and taking care of something at my other job. See ya at dinner time, Jamie!" she shouted to her brother, switching targets. He raised a hand in reply and went back to comparing assorted lengths of wire.

"Love you, too, bro!"

With that, Jessie jogged over to the Stadium and down to the rack that held the marvelous machine.

"Poor thing. That guy really rode you, didn't he?" she murmured, holding it gently. There were scuff marks, dirt, and who knew what else on its surface, and she carefully shrunk it down and put it on her back.

"Don't worry, baby. I'll fix you up good as new!" she promised before walking out of the Stadium.

* * *

Was her affection toward machines odd? Depends on your definition of odd. Jessie had always liked machines better than people, because if they broke down, she knew how to fix them. If people broke down, she was useless. It was more a matter of protecting herself than actually favoring metal over meat.

* * *

The JET-Board secured on her back, Jessie went back out to her hover. It was in exactly the same place, though she could tell someone had tried to drive away with it. Tough luck. That was what the parking brake was for, and roughly twelve people in Haven City knew about that. Three were Jamie, Keira, and herself. Two were the drivers for any functions at the Palace. Five were the people who designed the hovers. And two were a pair of hoverjackers that usually worked in the Slums. But anyone with half a brain knew better than to take the Black Orchid.

Modified from a retired KG patrol bike to have a bit more firepower than the original maker had intended, painted a solid black with the name in small, light blue letters on the back, and souped up to have more horsepower than a herd of zedonks, the Black Orchid was the fastest zoomer in Haven City. It was easy to see why Jessie had won so many drag races on it, before she went clean and joined the NYFE league. Of course, when they had demanded she downgrade her racer, she had quit to be a mechanic. That had been a month ago, and was part of the reason why they needed a new racer.

She deactivated the brake, climbed into the seat, and gunned it through the streets to the Port, where Luna was waiting beside her transport.

"Finally! I think I aged five years just waiting for you," the pilot joked. Jessie rolled her eyes and disembarked from her zoomer.

"Sure you did, Luna. Ready to handle the bazaar?" she asked, pointing at the entrance to the main shopping district. Luna nodded and grinned.

"Only if you think you can handle it. This last haul brought in loads of credits, way more than that other job of yours," she said, raising an eyebrow. Her friend shrugged.

"Hey, I never took it for the money. I took it because it's the right thing to do. Praxis needs to pay for his crimes," she muttered, pressing a button on the control panel of the Black Orchid. There was a whirring noise and the entire back opened up, revealing another seat for a passenger. Her friend whistled.

"Whoa. When did you put this in?" Luna asked, looking at it appreciatively. Jessie smirked.

"A few days ago. I got tired of having to use two separate hovers whenever I wanted to go out on the town with someone. Besides, it makes it more fun. Get in! And you're paying for all the gifts, got it?" she said, climbing back into the driver's seat. Her friend rolled her eyes, but joined her.

"Yeah, got it. Besides, you have to shop for dinner, right? I'm not so evil that I wouldn't help out with that."

"But you admit to being evil."

"Of course!"

Laughing, the two girls drove to the bazaar to buy offerings for Jessie's foray to the temple tomorrow. They got off to continue on foot, mainly to take their time and enjoy their few hours together. Luna flirted with one seller of the crystals they usually bought, and Jessie snickered at her antics, even after he tried to get Luna's com-number. Naturally, he crashed and burned, mainly because Luna would be incredibly busy as an Air Train pilot for the next six months.

The pair met up at Brutter's stand in the bazaar once they were done shopping. Jessie had a basket of groceries on the stool next to her, but she moved it to let her friend sit down. The Lurker seemed happy to see them both.

"Oh, two of the darky ones are here today! What can Brutter do for nice darky ladies?" he asked brightly. Jessie smirked at him, partially amused by how simplistic his happiness was. Must have been nice, not having to worry about being caught by the KG and used as a reason to drive out the rest of the Unfilled.

"Just give us something nonalcoholic, Brutter. Jessie's driving, and I'm on duty in an hour," Luna said, ordering for them. Jessie nodded and looked at her spoils of the usual market war. Sadly, there were plenty of people who were quite willing to steal from a pair of "defenseless" girls quenching their thirst, and so she had to keep a close eye on them.

"Okay. Brutter will bring you cranappley juice," he replied, nodding vigorously before turning and busying himself with some pink liquid.

"What did you get?" she asked, resting her head on one hand. Luna grinned and held up her hard-won prizes.

"Some amethyst and rose quartz crystals, a few small pearls, and some potpourri. How about you?" she replied, peeking at the covered basket. Jessie lifted it and removed the cloth covering.

"A couple of small Yellow Eco crystals, one Red Eco crystal, a bottle of Tabasco sauce, and six cans of chili," she listed casually. Luna shook her head with amusement.

"Girl, your tastebuds are dead if you can eat that much spicy stuff without it catching fire," she replied. Jessie shrugged.

"Tell me something I don't know." The pair chuckled as Brutter finished making their drinks.

"Here darky ladies are! Fresh cranappley juice, with ice!" he enthused. She had no idea where he got that much optimistic energy, but it was contagious. Already, her bad mood was starting to drift away, unlike the clouds that shrouded Haven City.

"Thanks, man. Just put it on Luna's tab," she told him, winking at her friend. Luna rolled her eyes, but smiled and raised her drink in a toast.

"To the Ecolians, may they always watch over us," she said, holding out her drink. Jessie sighed and lifted hers as well.

"And to overthrowing Praxis, may he rot in whatever hell the Precursors decide to throw him in," she replied grimly. They clinked glasses, linked arms, and downed their juice in one go. They placed their empty mugs back on the wooden counter and grinned at each other.

"Brutter, another round!" Jessie said loudly.

* * *

All too soon, it was time for Luna to go back to her job and for Jessie to go home. Torn didn't have any missions that required her presence, so she was free to go back without any worries besides the usual (avoiding the KG and traffic, making sure she wasn't killed on accident, and avoiding some lunatic on a hover). When she climbed the stairs that led to the small apartment she shared with Jamie and Uncle Jinx, however, she was in for a surprise.

An old man, a crocadog, and a kid were inside sitting on the couch. The elderly man had a very impressive set of muttonchops, a blue robe, and a staff in his hand. The kid had simple blue and white clothes, and a tuft of green hair peeped out from beneath his leather cap. It was the traditional Unfilled garb of children, though she knew he wasn't anywhere close to being one. It was easy to tell when one was Unfilled or not. But, despite his obscured origins, she recognized them from around the hideout and groaned quietly.

"Damn, is it our turn to hide the kid?" she muttered, ruffling the back of her short hair then brushing the bangs out of her face. Taking a deep breath to steel herself, she walked further inside and looked around for her brother or her uncle.

"Ah, Jessie. Your brother said you would be back soon," the old man said. She winced and smiled at him weakly.

"Uh, hi, Kor. I guess it's our turn to hide him, right?" she said, hoping that she would be wrong. Funny how hopes can be raised and dashed so quickly.

"Indeed. I will be back tomorrow for the boy. Until then, dear," he affirmed, standing up and walking past her to the door.

"Oh, and Jessie? Be careful. There's a new member of the Underground that you won't like very much. If I were you, I'd stay far away from him," he warned before leaving. Jessie shook her head, looked at the kid and the crocadog, who were watching her curiously.

"Okay, kid, here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna eat dinner, go to bed, and do it all without making a mess, got it?" she said firmly. He nodded, pushed off of the blue couch, and followed her into the kitchen, the crocadog at his heels. She didn't mind him watching her take out the cans of chili, use the electric can opener to liberate the contents, and pour the now-lidless cans into the pot she had pulled out. She also didn't mind him watching her stir the chili, though his silence was a bit unnerving. Jessie couldn't blame him for that, though. She had known him for two years, ever since she and her brother had joined the Underground to fight against Praxis and his laws restricting the Unfilled. It had been her idea to hide him in... an Unfilled skin, you might say, to show him to the world as something he was not. His palace clothes had been burned, and with them any trace of who he was. Which, she had to admit, was as cloudy as the sky above Haven.

Jessie had no idea who the kid was, only that he had once been nobility. His clothes had been proof enough of that, along with his crocadog. Only the rich could afford a rare pet like that, or a pair of hunters out in the furthest reaches of the Forbidden Jungle, where no man had set foot for centuries and lived to tell the tale. But despite his origins, the Shadow had said he was important to the city, and so she had come up with the plan to hide him. Disguise him as an Unfilled child, put him under the care of an old man, and have them move from house to house each night under the guise of training. Jessie didn't particularly like Kor, mostly because he gave her a weird feeling. Perhaps it was the Eco that lurked deep inside her, the traces of her initiation into the ranks of the Unfilled, that roiled like a pot boiling over whenever the old man got too close. Perhaps it was just the ghost of the voices of the Ecolians from when she was first brought to the temple and heard them speak. Either way, she only trusted him because he protected the kid from people that might harm him.

The sound of cheerful chittering behind her caught her attention, and she turned. Her muse, Sparkle, was sitting in the entrance of the kitchen, her head cocked to one side with curiosity. The kid and the crocadog looked at her, and the animal began growling. Sparkle replied in kind with some angry chatter.

"Oi! Stop it, you two!" she scolded. Both did as she asked and gave her adorable looks.

"Oh, don't start. I have to cook dinner. When the chili's ready, I'll feed you two," she said sternly. The two glared at each other, but didn't do anything else to rile up the young woman.

 _A few minutes later..._

The boy, the crocadog, the muse, and Jessie were gathered around the dinner table, which had been cleared of the various small inventions and explosive devices her brother and uncle frequently left lying around and now bore three bowls. Knowing her uncle, Jessie had set aside a bowl for him in the fridge, to be reheated when he got back (which was usually around midnight; a demolitions expert has a "surprising" amount of work under a crime lord). Once she had set the table with the dishes and spoons, she set out two dishes and poured some Kritter Kibble into them for the muse and the crocadog to eat, which they did ravenously.

'Honestly, they act like they're never fed,' she thought with amusement.

Once the pets had their food, Jessie began serving up the bubbling chili, set on a trivet with a picture of a zoomer on it. The door hissed open with obnoxiously cheerful beeping, and her brother walked in.

"Jessie, I'm home!" he called, moving out of the way of the wayward door that seemed determined to close on him. After that episode a year ago, when he had almost deleted the AI he had created to recognize their family and keep out unwanted guests, the mechanism in charge of the entranceway had held a grudge against the younger of the Sagai twins (aka Jamie). But thanks to months of avoiding KG patrols (and his sister's habit of throwing knives at him when she got incredibly pissed off), he excelled at dodging any form of assault.

"I can tell! The door just tried to crush you!" she shouted back, nearly dropping an entire spoonful of chili on the table. The kid was quick enough to put a bowl underneath it before the hot food forever stained the gleaming table. Jamie grinned at her as he held up a basket of... something.

"What in the names of Lumina and Umbra is that?" she asked, pointing a dripping spoon at him. He shrugged and got closer.

"Ah, just some offerings I picked up at the Hip Hog."

"You went to see Uncle Jinx? Without me? Jamie, I am hurt and shocked that you would do such a thing," Jessie replied indignantly. He rolled his eyes and set the basket down near the other offerings Jessie and Luna had bought earlier.

"No, you're really not. Don't lie to your twin brother, Jessie. We've been together since birth, and frankly, that makes it hard not to know someone," he shot back, going over and sticking a finger in the bowl of chili nearest him. Jessie slapped the back of his hand lightly, but the damage was done. He pulled it out quickly and stuck the offending finger in his mouth.

"Mmm. Way to go, sis. Perfect temperature. I applaud you," Jamie said, backing a safe distance away from her glare. The kid smiled at him and pointed at his sister innocently.

"Yeah, she's a _scary_ girl, isn't she? Don't worry. Jessie only eats bad little kids who don't finish their vegetables," he told him in the soft voice of conspiracy. The little boy paled and stole a frightened glance at her. Just for kicks, she gave him the most evil smile she could.

"But I also like the ones that don't listen to their elders," she said darkly. The kid paled even more and grabbed Jamie's shirt. She stared at him, then licked her lips for good measure. By now, the kid seemed ready to wet himself, and she didn't want to clean that mess up.

"Ha. Just kidding, boy. Now eat your chili before I do," Jessie said, pointing her eating spoon (not her serving spoon) at him and grabbing the bottle of Tabasco sauce from where she had placed it before serving food up. One hand pulled the cap off, and the other poured a scary amount onto her food, then stirred it in. Jamie, the kid, the crocadog, and Sparkle all had a look of fascinated disgust on their faces. The oldest person in the room (aka Jessie, though you'll never catch me calling her that to her face) stopped her utensil halfway to her mouth and turned her head slightly.

"...How can you eat that?" Jamie asked, marveling at the dead state of her tastebuds. She shrugged, shoved the food into her mouth indecorously, and gave them all a heated stare.

"How can you not?" she replied sharply.

Secretly, Jessie ate the hottest things she could find for more than the spicy thrill it gave her. She did it for the same reason she had participated in drag races throughout the city: to feel alive again. Losing her parents in the accident three years ago had caused more than just pain to her and the rest of the Unfilled; it had destroyed any hope she might have of a normal relationship. The death of Lucy and Joker Sagai had also been the death of her emotions. The blessing of the Unfilled was also its greatest curse.

Once the fire of the chili and hot sauce reached her throat, the sense of being alive returned to her. It hadn't been that long since she had last felt like that, but it had been too long all the same.

 _Half an hour later..._

Jessie and Jamie helped get the kid to bed, walking past several things on the walls with cloth draped over them. Neither commented on the hangings, and the kid didn't ask, for obvious reasons. When they had managed to make a passable bed for him in Jamie's room, the two left him and the crocadog to their own devices and went out to the living room to watch some late night shows, Sparkle jumping onto Jessie's lap and making a cross between a purr and a buzz, and listening with half an ear while they talked to each other.

"Jessie, do you think you can handle visiting the temple tomorrow? I know you've been doing it for a few years now, but things have gotten worse lately. Torn says the KG are starting to up their patrols, and I don't think they'd take too kindly to an Unfilled visiting a place outside of the city, even if it is the temple," Jamie asked worriedly, ignoring the show on their vid-screen (a series about a group of geeks living in Haven City and trying to be popular with the ladies). Jessie sighed heavily.

"I have to, Jamie. You know I'm the only one that can," she replied mournfully. He nodded in silence and glanced over to a picture hanging on the wall. It showed a younger version of Jamie and his sister, each smiling widely in the foreground while three adults stood behind them, grinning just as happily. On the right was their Uncle Jinx, minus his usual cigar. On the left was a man who looked almost exactly like him, only he had a circlet of blue-white, twisting arrows around the top of his head. In the middle was a pretty woman with black hair and the same blue eyes as her children.

"I know. That doesn't mean I have to like it," he said, looking directly at the photo now. Jessie followed his gaze, and her face softened from its usual hard, barely-concealed anger to a look of wistful peace.

"Don't worry, Jamie. I won't die like Mom and Dad. As long as there are Ecolians, there will be Unfilled, and the city needs them for their Eco advice. There haven't been any more Sages, not for decades." Jamie smirked at that.

"Yeah, but their descendants survived. Just look at us," he replied wryly. At this, Jessie smiled a little.

"Look at us. I wonder how the Blue Sage would react to his descendants being like us, or the Yellow Sage, for that matter. I think they might have heart attacks," she said, her smile growing wider at the thought. Her brother rolled his eyes.

"Only if they saw you. I'm a perfect model citizen. I pay my bills and taxes, I don't kill people, and I obey the law, for the most part," he said calmly. This time, it was Jessie's turn to roll her eyes.

"Oh really? What do you call being a member of the rebellion against the 'merciful' ruler of the city?" she quipped. He grinned at her, but his cheeks were starting to flush.

"A model citizen with a few skeletons in his closet," Jamie said matter-of-factly. At this, they both started chuckling grimly. Their family had more than a few skeletons in the familial closet.

"Well, Mister Model Citizen, it's time to sleep. We've got a big day tomorrow, and I still need to clean up this JET-Board for Keira," she yawned, stretching her arms wide and nearly hitting her brother's face with one hand. He peered over her shoulder and arm and saw the machine in question.

"Have you been wearing that all day?" he asked, raising a black eyebrow. She twisted her head around and saw it.

"Huh. I guess I have," Jessie replied thoughtfully. He sighed and stood up.

"Well, Miss I-Have-No-Spacial-Awareness, I bid a good night to you. And good night, Miss Ophelia," he said, tipping an imaginary hat to her and the muse. Sparkle looked up and cocked her head to the side.

"Jamie, call her Sparkle."

"No. Her full name is Ophelia Sparkle Von Nitro-Sagai, and so I will call her by her first name. Would you like it if I called you Amaranth?" he asked, poking her cheek. She glared at him and pushed his hand away.

"No, but mostly because I don't want to be considered a flower. Anyways, Sparkle likes being called that, right, sweetie?" she cooed, looking at her muse. The animal mewed happily and jumped up to her shoulders, wrapping her long body around her neck.

"See? Good night, Jamie. I'll see you at our other job tomorrow," she said resolutely, standing up and walking past him to her room.

It wasn't bare, per se, but it was sparsely decorated. A bed with black bedclothes stood in one corner, a dresser with a simple lamp and alarm clock was arranged next to it, and a small door led to the closet, which didn't hold much in the way of clothing. Jessie took off her pants and tank top, slid under the soft covers, and curled up on the bed, Sparkle taking her usual spot just above her head on the pillow. They fell asleep to the lullaby of the city, the drone of engines, the cry of alarms, and the murmur of people creating a soothing melody for the Unfilled girl and her pet.

As she slept, a darker force than she could imagine moved its pieces into place; the game had begun, and no one in Haven City realized she was a pawn. Not even Jessie herself.

* * *

 **Author's Notes: To the reviews!**

 **JakAttack13 (chapter 2, Dec. 26) – Many thanks! The Unfilled and the Ecolians are pretty mysterious and ominous, aren't they? But they're not all bad... kinda. They've just had a rough time of it, given what happened three years ago. What is that, you ask? Well, you'll find out.**

 **Guest (chapter 2, Dec. 26) – Yeah, Jessie did have a point. On what, I don't know. You're probably talking about her view on Krew, right? Or Baron Praxis?**

 **Wild Cat 214, out!**


	4. Chapter 3: Monoliths and Memories

**Author's Notes: I changed this part a bit, just to fit in with the new** **story** **.** **Mostly minor alterations, but not too many. This chapter was actually where I started to rewrite Blue Eyes, but I couldn't really go back and change that story. Well, I could, but it wouldn't be fair to everyone else who had read it already.**

 **This chapter is dedicated to fanficfanaticxoxo, WindSpriteLuxara, Eragonfan33, CherokeeBrave, the people that read the first version (whether you have an account or not), and the two guests that reviewed. You cared enough about my story to make it a part of your life, and so, from the bottom of my heart, I thank you with reader cookies and the love ingrained in these pixels.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Jak and Daxter, just my OC's.**

* * *

 _"The Unfilled temple near Haven City is one of the greatest manmade structures of our world. Few can match it in beauty or value, even the Palace of the same city it lies near. The opal is from the great jewel mines of the Icelands, and the obsidian comes straight from the Lava Fields of Drakis. The crystal at the top is rumored to be the same one mined out from the Volcanic Crater close to a certain Precursor Silo, the crowning achievement of two nameless miners lost to history. All of this is the result of the Unfilled's devotion to the Ecolians and their promises of eventual enlightenment. Just calculating the number of credits it took to build that venerable structure would overheat the current computers of Haven." -Professor_ _Anna_ _Baker, teacher of Unfilled history in Haven City's School for the Unfilled_

* * *

Jessie woke up to see the boy and his crocadog had joined her sometime during the night. They radiated a soothing presence, like someone who was close to her. Which did explain why she hadn't had those nightmares, but still. Why her? She wasn't motherly in the slightest. She ran a hand through her messy hair and looked out at the watery sunlight streaming in through the window. Today was the day she visited her parents' graves and cleaned the temple of the Unfilled. Jessie got out of bed, taking care not to wake up the two guests, and started for the bathroom. Jamie had already gotten up to go work with Vin for a short while, so she had the place to herself.

Once her clothes were taken off, she stepped into the shower and turned on the hot water. It stun her back, but she gritted her teeth and bore with it. The pain reminded her to stay alive, to not get in too much trouble. Bubbles ran down her body from the shampoo and went down the drain.

'Just like time,' Jessie thought gloomily.

When her shower was finished, the girl got out and toweled off, then pulled on a simple combination of tank top and sweats. She grabbed a comb and began running it through her unruly mop of short, two-toned hair, averting her eyes from the green symbol in the mirror just over her chest. It was blurry in the mist on the glass, but it glowed with a vibrant passion, though no such mark was on her own chest. The mirrors in Unfilled houses revealed more than just the image of a person. They unveiled truths best kept hidden from the world.

Once clean, dressed, and reasonably civilized, she went into the kitchen to fix herself some breakfast. It would have to be fast, though, so she grabbed a granola bar and ripped open the wrapper. There was a soft breathing noise behind her, and she whirled around.

It was the kid and his crocadog, watching her thoughtfully. Jessie knelt down to look him in the eye.

"You hungry?" she asked bluntly. He put a finger to his mouth and nodded. A smile spread across her face.

"Well, we don't have much in the ways of breakfast, but here. Have a bar," she said, grabbing the box and pulling one out. It was chocolate chunk, and while it wasn't much, the kid seemed happy to have it. She then poured out some of Sparkle's food into a dish and put it on the floor. The crocadog eagerly chowed down.

'I guess Kor can't really work to feed them, can he?' she thought, watching the two of them eat ravenously. While they were eating, Jessie heard the doorbell ring. That was odd. KG didn't ring the bell. They just barged in like they owned the place, and damn the personal rights of the person living there! Although, that AI in their door probably wouldn't have let them know about the guest with the bell if he or she was hostile. Just one of the many benefits of having a paranoid personality in your security system. She left them to their "meal" and walked down the hall to the front door. A glance at the monitor for the door revealed Kor. He stood alone, holding his walking stick and looking around nervously. She put a hand to the panel beside the metal sheet and it slid open.

"Hello, Jessie. I'm here to pick up the boy," he said, smiling kindly at her. She smiled back.

"Just a minute. He's eating breakfast right now," Jessie replied, glancing back toward the kitchen. The boy and crocadog peeped through the archway to see the old man, and they hurried over to him.

"Or he's finished breakfast. Hey, try and get some food in him. He looks kind of skinny to me," she said, poking the kid's belly playfully. He put his hands to the thinnest part of him and looked at her sadly. She patted his head fondly.

"Hey, don't worry, kid. We'll meet again. Just you wait." The old man thanked her, took the boy's hand gently, and they left, moving faster than she would have guessed the old man could. She watched them go, almost sadly, then pulled herself together. She had to go to the temple. She was the only one who could do it, now that the Unfilled had no leaders to drive them on. With that firm thought in mind, she pulled on the sacred uniform, grabbed the offerings she and Luna had bought yesterday, walked out of their apartment, and down to her parked hover.

Jessie drove through the streets on her hover, taking wide corners and barely avoiding hitting several KG bikes and Hellcats, not to mention the numerous other hovers in the air. She shot past shops opening up for the day, whizzed through security gates, and flew through the gardens toward the gate close to the Stadium. Not the one that led to the Mountain Temple and Haven Forest, but one that led to a quiet grotto deep in the mountains. The road leading to it was silent – not even birds called on that winding path – but that was a mixed blessing. She could mourn the dead without distraction, but at the same time she was all alone.

Her feet trod the beaten path by memory, stepping over places where roots from ancient trees had broken through the ground, and brought her to the grotto. A ray of sunshine from some ancient mirrors placed by the very first Unfilled shot down onto the crown of the opal and obsidian temple, casting a spray of rainbows across the steep stone walls from a large crystal placed at the tip. Her heart was heavy, but Jessie walked on, past the temple to a marble monolith just behind it. In the traditional style of the Unfilled, it had swirling designs worked into the stone along the strands of silver that ran through it, and names were carved into it.

Leo Walsh, Quentin Jackson, Gaea Tiersen, Jane Zenith, Lucy Sagai, Joker Sagai. Those were the names most recently carved into the stone. Small gems of six different colors symbolized their rank among the multitudes of the Unfilled. Green, Blue, Red, Yellow. Purple, White, descending in the traditional order of the Vessels. And the last were the names of her parents. Something hot and wet ran down her cheek, and Jessie realized she was crying. It didn't matter; no one could see her here, in this place forgotten by a war-torn city and its tyrannized people. Not even the rest of the Unfilled bothered to come here anymore. Why visit, when the only people who could help them communicate with the Ecolians were dead? She shook her head bitterly. The only people who even payed their respects to the temple were Luna, Jamie, Jinx, and herself. There was something wrong about that, and she supposed it had to do with the fact that there were still so many claiming to be Unfilled within the city. If they truly believed that the Ecolians were the link between human and Precursor, then why didn't they try to help? Why did they leave an orphaned girl to take care of something she shouldn't have to worry about until she was of age to become a Vessel?

Jessie stopped herself. It wasn't their fault. After the tragedy during the attack on Dead Town, many of the Unfilled had become confused and disoriented, and some had even been arrested. Their voices in government, the only people who could have tried to remedy the ensuing distrust between the faithless and the Unfilled, had died of mysterious circumstances, and now they were looked on as traitors to the cause. They had felt when all six Vessels had died, and the many who had served in the Krimzon Guard had even stopped fighting to mourn their deaths. But that had only led to unfair trials and even more fear of her people, not to mention countless more being killed by Metal Heads who had taken advantage of their moment of weakness. They couldn't help it that when they joined the ranks of the Unfilled a mental bond was formed during the Rite of Passage. The Eco that they had ingested in powdered form had strengthened any latent psychic powers, and in some cases unlocked them, and the tests for Vessel eligibility depended on which Eco they reacted to best. But at the same time, they knew whenever one of their own was dying. If an Unfilled left the land of the living, everyone felt the pain of losing them, even if they hadn't known them personally. That was what made that strange religious sect so hate-filled toward murderers, torturers, and the new regime under Baron Praxis. It didn't help that when the king and queen went missing, along with their child, the Unfilled who had been loyal to them had also vanished, and many of those left behind blamed the Baron. That was why so many had joined the Underground's cause, even if it was in pacifistic ways. Some would offer safe houses, some would provide supplies, and a few even went so far as to sabotage the KG's efforts. But after the Great Purge, few remained in Haven besides Jessie and her family, a few close friends, and those who were not allowed to leave the city due to work or legal reasons. If only she was old enough to be a Vessel, like her mother and father before her. She could lead her people back to a brighter future, and—

Her head shook to break her reverie. Now was not the time to mourn the lost or dream of the future, but the time to focus on the present. And right now, the temple needed to be cleaned. The Ecolians could not speak to their faithful from a filthy temple. It was sacrilegious, not to mention offensive to the faithful that remained and those who traveled here to pay their respects.

She hadn't realized she had sunk to the grassy floor until she felt the dew seeping through her robe into her sweats. Jessie stood up, brushed some grass from her knees, and walked back around the temple. The sun had risen higher, enough that the tops of the cliffs were bathed in golden light. How strange, that the closest city was almost constantly plagued by storms, and yet half a mile away it was sunny. But that was nature for you. Green Eco worked in mysterious ways. How else could grass and flowers flourish in such a dark place like the Grotto of Whispering Secrets?

The steps leading up to the elaborately woven curtain that closed off the temple's interior weren't even worn, although they were hundreds of years old. The pattern in it was that of a million different things, and every second it was shifting. That was the doing of the Ecolians. They managed to preserve this place for their followers' benefit and even enacted some control over a part of their domain. Even if almost none of those followers came to visit and pray anymore. She pushed past the curtain, which then swung back into place with the sibilant swish of heavy fabric.

Inside was strangely lit. Twelve small pedestals of solid gemstones rose from the mosaic floor, each pair of colors framing a throne of the same crystalline material. The two closest to her were the Vigorous Throne and the Ensanguined Throne, the former of which was made of blue jewels that crackled with electricity, and the latter of which was made of an almost blood-red crystal that had the faint tang of iron in the air around it. Their pedestals released steady streams of Blue and Red Eco. Further into the room were the Serene Throne and the Passionate Throne. The Serene Throne was made of a single glowing white gem shaped into a seat with a peaceful air to it, while the Passionate was made of an opaque red-violet stone that shone like the obsidian surrounding it; it made her feel so strange. If Jessie hadn't known better, she would have thought it was liquid, because of the shifting nature of its surface and the occasional flashes of indigo. Light Eco and Dark Eco flowed from these pedestals, providing light that was a tad too bright and light that cast wicked shadows on all it touched. Finally, at the rear of the temple stood the Bountiful Throne and the Watchful Throne, green and yellow-gold objects of power. Bountiful whispered of the joy of life, and its colors ran through all the shades of green that were possible. The atmosphere of this throne was vibrant, and any second now she expected flowers and wildlife to spring up around it. In contrast, the Watchful Throne was solemn, and it made the back of her neck prickle. Its golden stone spoke of the color of a hawk's eye, and indeed it seemed to be watching everything around it, searching for the key to victory. Green and Yellow Eco sprayed from the pedestals, the life and awareness of each invigorating her.

Jessie took a cloth from a small alcove near the front and started wiping down all the surfaces to a glassy shine. First came the walls and the shifting images they held, showing glimpses of the past that all too soon changed to visions of the future. Once the roiling opal and obsidian was clean, she turned to the mosaic floor. Swirling patterns similar to the ones on the monolith had been carefully inlaid into the mortar, creating lines of power for the Vessels to communicate fully with the Ecolians. At the thrones, six lines of red, yellow, green, blue, purple, and white ran toward the center of the ring of seats and met in a small pillar made entirely of Eco crystals. All the effects of each Eco radiated from it, from the healing powers of Green to the vision-enhancing effects of Yellow, from strengthening Red to energizing Blue, and from calming Light to quickening Dark. It was almost too much for her to touch it, but the crystal pillar must be clean. The channel between the Ecolians at the core and the Vessels at the crust must be kept open for when the next generation of Vessels could begin their role as leaders of their people. It took all of Jessie's willpower to avoid giving in to the whispers of the Eco, the tantalizing tastes of the power it would give her, and when she was done she breathed a sigh of relief. But the hardest part was yet to come.

Now she had to clean the thrones. At first, only the Vessels could touch their respective thrones, but after the Dead Town Tragedy and the Great Purge, the few Unfilled remaining agreed that Jessie should take on the role of preserving the temple, and that meant coming into contact with the thrones. And it wasn't just because she was one of the few who still came. When she had been initiated as a little girl, she had shown aptitude for all six Ecolian leaders. It was only through the insistence of her parents that she hadn't been signed on as a full-time temple guardian, and instead merely had to pay her respects once a week.

Jessie ran the cloth down the smooth surfaces of each throne, murmuring the name of the corresponding Ecolian and starting with the Vigorous then going clockwise.

"Azura. Lumina. Viridis. Saffron. Umbra. Rubeus," she chanted, fighting back the feelings that were threatening to overwhelm her. The suggestive whispers of the Ecolian leaders in her head tried to get her to sit on each throne when she touched them, but she knew better. Unfilled that had dared to sit on the thrones before they were old enough to handle the surge of power that came with it all too often were fried mentally, their spirits stolen away by the Ecolians. They were not harsh gods, or demigods as the Precursor Monks claimed, but they were swift to enact punishment on those who dared to go against their orders. Especially Saffron. The Yellow Ecolian despised those who were not patient, and perhaps that was why it was frequently at odds with Azura, who applauded the eager and the young. The rivalries between Ecolians were too complex for Jessie to comprehend, and while there were some compatibility issues between those of the opposite elements (Green and Yellow were Earth and Wind, Blue and Red were Water and Fire, and Light and Dark were just that), it was most often the personalities of each Ecolian that produced such divided ranks.

" **Jessie, darling, why don't you accept us? You know you could do it. You have the strength,** " Umbra whispered into her ear as she wiped down the Passionate Throne.

" **So many heed our advice, though they do not realize it. Why don't you join them? Become one with us, as others have done before you,** " Azura joined in, its voice persuasive and slick. Jessie shook her head violently.

"Get out of my head. You still have to wait two years, and maybe new Vessels will appear by then. Now leave me alone!" she shouted into the empty temple. Their voices faded away and she stormed out of the temple. But a small part of her toyed with the idea of becoming a Vessel right now, defying Unfilled tradition and accepting the burden of leading her people into a new golden age.

* * *

 **Author's Notes: No reviews this time. Oh, well. C'est la vie. Happy New Year, everyone!**

 **Wild Cat 214, out!**


	5. Chapter 4: Council In the Core

**I LIVE! Ahahahahahahaha! (Whoever can guess what I'm referencing gets reader cookies and my undying affection. And no, I'm not imitating Mushu from Mulan, although he is an awesome character)**

 **And I come bearing… a CHAPTER!**

 **Author's Notes: Switching gears, we're gonna take a quick look at the Ecolians named last chapter and their take on this whole thing. They're more than just beings of worship for some of the humans on the surface. They have their own personalities and dreams and lives, and they have one common goal. What is it? Read on...**

 **Okay, sorry about the late update. Technical difficulties. The only reason I was able to publish a new story (Tooth and Claw) was because I wrote part of it using my tablet, and the rest on my mom's laptop. But I'm back! Hip hip, huzzah!**

 **Disclaimer: Well, I haven't gotten an email from Naughty Dog saying Jak and Daxter are now mine, so sadly I'm not having that party just yet. One day, though... one day!**

 **Please R &R!**

* * *

 _"The Ecolians have been around since the creation of the planet. According to Unfilled sources, they are the first children of the Precursors, created from the Eco that powers the universe. But something went terribly wrong at their creation, and they now need humans for whatever purpose they were originally intended for." -Professor Cutter Erwin, teacher of Unfilled children and current headmaster of the Unfilled School of Emergence_

* * *

Lumina, the unofficial leader of the Ecolians, had called an emergency meeting for the first time in three years to speak about the crisis. Those that had the strength to travel did so, causing some minor Eco surges in various spots, flowing along the Eco lines and through lakes, wells, and silos around the world to the core. Those that did not asked their neighbors to tell them what was decided. Eventually, all would know the Council's decision.

When most of the planet's Ecolians had gathered in the core, the meeting began. Though all could move freely through the vast Eco sphere that lay near ancient Precursor structures, each Ecolian had taken shelter among others of their type, Green among Green, Blue among Blue, Red among Red, and so on. At the very center of this congregation of Ecolians were the six cardinals. Azura, Lumina, Viridis, Saffron, Umbra, and Rubeus. The six types of Eco represented in each of the vaguely human figures, each showing signs of what living Eco should look like.

The cardinals sat in a copy of the temple above, the pillar of crystalline Eco a narrow spire running between the thrones. Azura drummed his fingers against the arm of his seat of power, pale blue eyes watching everything precociously and bolts of blue-white lightning arced across his sapphire body. Lumina's snowy white body sat calmly in his solid white crystal, light blue strings of arrows lazily rotating around his entire body, ash-gray eyes surveying the others expressionlessly. From his own throne, Viridis toyed with a feathered strand of Green Eco, his emerald body encircled with new-leaf-green vines, and his bright green eyes were focused mainly on the Eco in his slender hand. In contrast, Saffron was sitting perfectly still, even the sharply pointed lemon lines on her golden body staying in place, though her daffodil eyes were darting about with a far-off cast. Umbra was sulking on her throne, black body punctuated with flashes of crimson, violet, and indigo light and purple comets flying across her body. Passionate purple eyes watched the others warily. Finally, Rubeus was focused on a ball of Red Eco in her hand, maraschino cherry-colored chains tightening and loosening on her blood-red body, and her dark pink eyes intent on manipulating the Eco into a crystal.

When the concerned murmurs from the crowds of Ecolians behind, above, and below their respective cardinals ceased, Lumina began to speak.

" **My fellow Eco-quan, I have called us together for one important thing. Our future is in peril,** " he said gravely. A chorus of gasps echoed around the core. Saffron and most of her Yellow Ecolians nodded in confirmation.

" **The Lodestar Vessel known as Jessie Sagai refuses our advances every time. If we do not act fast, we may never attain our goal. My brothers and sisters, we may never obtain physical bodies.** "

Saffron rose and regarded those before her sternly.

" **Despite our daily dosing of the human girl with pieces of our essence, Miss Sagai has the strength to repel us. While it may have been necessary to eliminate the previous obstacles to our goal, the revealing of the prophecy may have been hasty. My Seers agree with my observations, and Yellow Eco visions do not lie. Because of our actions twenty years ago, we may have forced our own hand today. If we do not convince the Lodestar Vessel to channel at least three of us cardinals by the time the Precursor Stone is awakened, I fear we will fail in our mission. This cannot happen,** " she spoke evenly, giving the other five Ecolians seated around her long, serious looks. Azura stopped buzzing and sat still for the first time since the meeting began. All eyes widened as Viridis stood up to reply.

" **I agree, Saffron. But thankfully, because we removed the 'obstacles,' I was briefly channeled by the Lodestar Vessel three years ago. Her body bears my mark, and though it has faded over time, mirrors will remind her of that every day. I may be the best choice for the job of convincing her among us all. And unlike Rubeus, I will be gentle and calm while I work,** " he said sweetly, giving the Red Ecolian a gaze like the thorns that seemed to appear on his vines momentarily. She glared back, jumping to her feet.

" **Well, I may not be as soft and caring as Viridis, but at least I get the job done. This is war, my people. There comes a time when you have to put away the niceties and get rough, and that time is coming. When that happens, come and get me. I'll be preparing my Ecolians,** " she shot back gruffly. Being the living embodiment of Red Eco made her a bit hotheaded and more likely to use force than politics, but also made her one of the strongest and toughest Ecolians out there. Besides, she did have a point. This was war, a war against time itself. And if they lost, there would be no second chance.

Azura raised a trembling hand, but not from fear. It shook from the sheer energy contained inside the Blue Ecolian. And right now, that energy had been put to work in one of the greatest minds in the world to come up with a very important question.

" **But Saffron, what about the Sentinel and the Eyes? Without them, we may never take stable form,** " he asked rapidly, foot tapping instead of his fingers. She nodded once in reply.

" **The Eyes has already started to show signs of his gifts. My bond with him grows stronger with every passing moment. The time will come when he is ready to take up the mantle of his role in this. And you needn't worry about the Sentinel. He is Lumina and Umbra's problem, not ours,** " Saffron replied firmly, glancing at the two opposing Ecolians. While she was frequently grouped with Umbra in the Triad of Death the silly humans had come up with, Saffron had always liked Lumina more. Perhaps it was his tranquil mood, or the careful manner he always did everything with that spoke of his patience and intelligence. Whatever the case, right now, he was the key to the final part of the prophecy, he and Umbra. Light and Dark, working together. It amazed her that it was possible, and yet there they were.

Lumina and Umbra shared a knowing look, and the Dark Ecolian rose.

" **My connection to the Sentinel has grown stronger over the past two years, though Lumina has had an effect on him. I have faith in our ability to preserve him for the final event,** " she said confidently. That made the others breathe a sigh of relief. The tenacity and passion of the Dark Ecolians was renowned among all the Eco-quan. Sure, there was a shadow on their reputation, mainly because of their connection to the Dark Makers and the Metal Heads, but they made up for it by always keeping their promises. If a Dark Eco-quan swore they would do something, then it would be done.

" **Now that we are all up to date on the situation, I propose we have Viridis attempt to convince the Lodestar Vessel to channel two more of us. All in favor?** " Lumina asked serenely, holding up his hand. Four more joined him, the only one lacking being Rubeus. No one was surprised at this.

" **Since we have a majority vote, the Green Eco-quan shall do their best to cajole Jessie Sagai into becoming the Lodestar Vessel. If they fail to do so before the Precursor Stone is unearthed and revived by the Prince, then all will be lost. The Precursors will have too much power over us to allow the Lodestar Vessel to revive us,** " he projected, reminding all of the penalty of failure. Viridis bowed his head proudly.

" **We will not fail. If what Saffron has told me is true, our chance will come very soon,** " the Green cardinal replied securely.

* * *

With that final statement, the meeting ended, and each type of Ecolian began to drift back to their homes in lakes, channels, and wells of Eco. Umbra and the other Dark Ecolians were the last to leave, her eyes flashing violently at the retreating backs of the others. Unbeknownst to Azura, Lumina, Viridis, Saffron, and Rubeus, she had been given another part of the prophecy by a hidden benefactor of their cause. There was a being out there that was more powerful than the Precursors, one that promised they would attain physical form if Umbra did as she asked. And so help her, she wanted it.

All she had to do was create a rift between the Vessel and the Sentinel before their bond could grow too strong, and the Eco-quan would be given their own bodies. Already, Umbra had begun the first stage in her plan. She had been giving a tiny bit more of her essence than the other cardinals, and had already placed a substantial chunk inside the Sentinel. The two pieces would attract each other and make the Vessel doubt herself, and the rift would be created.

Everything was going according to plan.

* * *

 **Author's Notes: And now, the reviews! Huzzah!**

 **Eragonfan33 (chapter 4, Jan. 1) – Yeah, I would be, too, if I heard people talking in my head. But the Ecolians are a special case, and so is Jessie (and don't worry, Jessie and Jak are going to meet VERY soon). I have so much in store for you all. MUAHAHAHAHA! Ahem, sorry.**

 **Guest (chapter 4, Jan. 1) – I know, right? Just think how sparkly and glowing they are... but I don't think either of us could handle the Eco surge. Sadly, we have no way of finding out. Personally, I would be torn between Lumina and Umbra, mostly because they're both so cool! And Viridis, too. I did like that chapter, too. Imagine how much it would have cost to actually build that temple and the monolith behind it. Whoo, that's a lot of money.**

 **Leach60 (chapter 4, Jan. 27) – Well, welcome, Leach60. I'm glad you like it, too.**

 **Hey, people! Do you think we can manage a few more reviews next time? What can I say? I'm greedy for feedback. And don't be afraid to speak your mind. Just remember that I'll ignore all flames (which means I won't respond to it), so use constructive criticism! Okay, I'll stop demanding so much of you and write the next chapter.**

 **Wild Cat 214, out!**


	6. Chapter 5: (Unwilling) Partners In Crime

**Author's Notes: JESSIE AND JAK ARE GOING TO MEET NOW! I'M SO EXCITED! *DELIGHTED SQEUAL!***

 **Okay, I'll calm down now. Maybe.**

 **So I'm gonna make an exception for one of the reviews, because I'd much rather address it up here. Yo, Basket in a Nutcase! Thanks for liking my story, and as for your question on Jak's whereabouts, I have a simple answer. Jessie's path hasn't crossed his that much, mainly because they haven't shared a lot of common areas. But don't worry. He's appearing for good now.**

 **Disclaimer: Naughty Dog owns Jak and Daxter, not me. I still haven't gotten that email :.( All I have are my OC's, dialogue, and plot variations.**

* * *

" _You wish to know why I had the Sagai twins stationed in the Stadium? Because we need a way to keep an eye on Erol, and because Jamie said it was important to the timestream. He has powers not seen in this city for centuries, not since the great Gemini first appeared with Mar. If he had a vision regarding that structure, then I will not get in his way." -The Shadow, speaking to Torn about his decision to place Jamie and Jessie in the Mar Memorial Stadium_

* * *

Jessie pulled off her robes roughly, not caring if the laces got tangled up, and folded it as she walked back to the city, grumbling all the while. Normally, visiting the temple would have made her feel better, but lately the Ecolians had been pressuring her to become a Vessel even more than before. That, coupled with her job in the Underground and at the Stadium, made Jessie a very unhappy camper.

A beeping noise distracted her just as she got into the airlock in the wall, and she let her communicator out. ' _You have 1 new message_ _'_ appeared on the screen, and she sighed. The only people who messaged her were Torn and the Shadow, mostly because they couldn't risk exposing her connection to the rebels. Having this screen appear meant she needed to go to the Hideout, even though she already planned on it. She clicked a button, and the text appeared on the screen.

' _Jessie, we need you to come in. We have a vital mission for you,_ ' was all it said, and she let out an exasperated breath. Why her? There were plenty of other people out there. Why did everything have to happen to her in the span of one day? Why couldn't she just give them the latest report on the situation in the Stadium and be done with it?

It wasn't until she felt the filtered city air on her face that Jessie realized the inner door had opened.

"It's nice to see you still alive," the city AI said pleasantly. She sighed and waved at the ceiling.

"It's nice to _be_ alive," she replied, walking through the door. Antagonizing the city AI was almost as bad as slapping a KG in front of the Fortress: you only did it at your own risk.

Jessie did her best to avoid stomping down the ramp that led to the gardens, but the people that passed by could tell she was angry, and they stayed far out of her path. Messing with an angry Unfilled racer was never a good idea. The Unfilled may not have liked killing people, but they had no such qualms over injuring them, and all were taught how to defend themselves in the Unfilled School of Emergence. Of course, it was mostly so they could stay fit and healthy, but also because Haven City was a dangerous place. Jessie was part of the reason why that was so.

She shoved her robes into the bottom compartment of her bike, swung one leg over the seat, and gunned the hover forward, ignoring most of the traffic laws and nearly hitting a Hellcat when she drove into the Stadium section. The com-unit in her pocket buzzed when she passed through the gates, but no one stopped her. It was just the city AI scanning for the appropriate pass.

"Honestly, why does Torn have a mission for me? I already told him I was through with missions," Jessie grumbled, swerving around a corner and switching zones to avoid a transport filled with KG. She made the final turn into the Mar Stadium Plaza and got off her bike at the entrance to the garage. There was another hover parked beside hers, but she ignored it. It wasn't Jamie's two-seater, and it wasn't Keira's zippy zoomer, so it was probably some other mechanic's ride. Once parked, she noticed a light flashing on her dashboard, the one telling her that the steering fluid was low.

Before she went into the garage to get some power steering fluid for her hover, the young woman walked into the Stadium to place the JET-Board on its rack. Her boss could collect it later for any tune-ups it needed; she, on the other hand, needed to refill the fluid and get to the Hideout. When she walked into the garage on the other side of the huge building, though, she was in for a surprise. A guy with long, yellow-green hair and an orange rat were waiting near a two-seater Keira was working on. The young woman involuntarily took a step towards him, some part of her _wanting_ to be closer to him – strange as it seemed – and she accidentally kicked a can of oil. The metallic clatter of it hitting the floor drew the attention of the odd pair, and the rat perked up and walked toward her.

"Excuse us, miss. Can you tell us where the two ladies who run this place are?" he said smoothly. She rolled her eyes and glanced back at the entrance. No one was watching, so she could be as rude as she wanted. It wasn't going to earn her any points with these guys, but right now Jessie just needed to let out some of her frustration.

"If you two are here for repairs, news on the races, or because you want to see the boss, you'll have to come back later. The boss ain't in yet, and I don't talk about business without her," she replied coldly. The guy scowled darkly and walked up to her, going one step closer than she liked. That... urge... to be nearer to him only got worse, and she hated being told what to do by her body. It made her feel out of control.

"We just wanted to know more about the racing contract," he growled in reply. Something dark flashed in his eyes briefly and made that rebellious part of Jessie leap in reply. She forced down the feeling, pushed him out of the way as politely as possible, and walked over to the shelves of hover fluids. One last canister of steering fluid awaited and Jessie wasted no time in grabbing it. She let out a deep sigh and turned around to look at them again.

"Look, I don't make the decisions about who races for us. That's the boss's job. She decides who races, and my brother and I take care of the NYFE racer. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get to my other job. My boss has apparently decided to call me in," she snarled. Normally, she would have at least tried to be polite to them – it was how her parents had raised her – but the combination of the urge and the Ecolians had really riled her up. The guy glared at her.

"You know, you're not making a very good first impression, for someone kind enough to point out that elevator," he shot back. Jessie watched him for a few minutes, thinking over what he had said, and barked out a harsh laugh.

"So YOU'RE the guy Krew sent! Listen, pal, I'm just in a really shitty mood right now, so don't take it personally. I admire your driving skill. Not many can get here in less than three minutes, but I just went through a really irritating moment and I need to get to my other job. My boss has apparently decided to call me in," she replied sullenly. The man didn't reply, but simply folded his arms across his, she had to admit, well-defined chest. If she wasn't too pissed off to care about how he looked, she probably would have found him at least somewhat attractive, if in the bad-boy sort of way she usually avoided. Erol was hot but crazy, this guy was hot but bad-tempered, and Kyle... Kyle had been hot but a two-faced son of a crocadog. With men like them around, it was a miracle the human race kept on existing. Precursors knew _she_ would have sworn off guys altogether.

"Funny, because we need a ride to our job. Jak here somehow managed to turn off our hover and it won't turn back on," the rat said, obviously trying to lighten the mood. Jessie looked at the young man, who was now glaring, albeit a bit more kindly, at the rat.

"Nice to meet ya, Jak. Now scram. I've got a lot to do and you're taking up valuable time," she said, walking past the two to the Black Orchid. In the few minutes that it took her to pop the hood, replace the steering fluid, and push the hood back into place, the strange pair had followed her out. They were eyeing her hover with appreciation.

"You've got a black KG bike? When'd you pick that up?" Jak asked, for once not threateningly or grumpily. She smirked and climbed into the driver's seat.

"'Bout a year ago. Found her in a junkyard, ready to be melted down for scrap, and I paid for her repairs. A few mods, some spray paint, and a whole lotta TLC later, she was reborn as the Black Orchid. Now get lost," Jessie replied, giving them a pointed glare. The two of them simply shared a look.

"Do you think you can give us a ride to the Slums? We need to do something there," the human asked, in what was probably intended as a nice tone. On him, it mostly came out oddly, like if Jessie tried talking with a Kras City accent. It just didn't work well.

"And what makes you think I have room?" she shot back snarkily. They simply looked at the rear of her hover.

"That's a lot of trunk space for one small zoomer," he replied casually. The two humans stared each other down, until finally Jessie had to look away. Those blue eyes of his... they reminded her of something her father would tell her when she was a little girl.

 _"Remember, Jessie, eyes of blue, a hero true. Your mama has blue eyes, and she's my hero. You and your brother have blue eyes, so I know you'll be heroes. Blue eyes is how the Precursors tell us how someone is gonna turn out, because the eyes show you what's inside a person's heart."_

Right now, there was mostly darkness in his eyes, nearly overwhelming the blue. But right at the heart of the darkness was a faint glimmer of light, and she had to focus to see the flickering gleam that fought against the darkness. Not many people in Haven still had light in their eyes, so what made this guy so special?

Jessie realized she had been staring too long and looked away. Well, she might as well give him what he wanted.

"Fine, but only until I get to my job. Then you're on your own." She admitted defeat and pushed a button on the dashboard, making the rear seat extend outward. Jak and the rat shared a quiet victory – for guys – and as soon as they were aboard, she gunned the motor and shot away.

 _Not long after..._

Jessie pulled up a short distance away from the Hideout and dismounted, glaring at them.

"Okay, the Jessie Express has reached its final destination. All passengers be reminded that they only ride with the permission of the driver," she toned like the intercity express between Haven and Kras. The ride had restored some of her good mood, but it wasn't to last. Jak and the rat got off and stared at her in disbelief.

"Wait, are you...?" the orange rat asked incredulously. She raised an eyebrow, then decided it wasn't worth her time and started to walk toward the Hideout. With her luck, Torn would probably send her out on another mission to the Strip Mine to help Vin. She liked the guy, but he was sometimes a bit too paranoid for this city, even if Jamie did his best to help the guy calm down. There had been one too many times when he had nearly put holes in her during a rescue.

"Look, just go away now. I've about reached the end of my rope, and I'd prefer to have at least some sanity by the end of the day." With that curt remark, Jessie stormed off toward the Hideout and Torn, not even looking back at the duo. The door rose up and let her in quickly as soon as it detected her presence, and she had to be careful not to fall as she went down the ramp to the basement that served as the HQ of the notorious resistance movement to Baron Praxis' regime. Torn looked up as she came in, the older man standing over some sort of plan for another mission, and she ignored him and sank into her usual seat on a bunk just across from the table. It was her bunk whenever she had to stay the night for cleaning the few weapons the Underground had, and she guarded it like a mother bugbear protected her young.

"Good, you got my message. Now we just need to wait for the rookie to arrive," he said gruffly. The ex-KG sometimes impressed her, more often irritated her, and almost always infuriated her with his ridiculous demands, but she knew why he did it. This was a harsh, bitter war they were fighting, and Torn was only one man. Her father had told her to consider every part of a story, and that was why she sympathized with him. Not much, though. The man was a demon in human form.

"Rookie? What are you talking about?" she replied in confusion. That was when the door opened to allow Jak and the rat inside. The three of them stared at each other in shock until finally Jessie shot up and pointed at them.

"What the hell are you guys doing here?" she shouted angrily. Jak glared at her, then turned his angry look to Torn.

"What is _she_ doing here?" he asked the man, ignoring her completely. She growled softly and looked at Torn. He chuckled roughly and put his hands behind his back.

"Jessie, it looks like the new guy needs someone to show him the ropes. We've sent him out on a few missions, seen how he works, and the Shadow and I both agree you're the best suited to his style. Train him however you like, but make sure he understands one thing: in the Underground, if you screw up even once, you're Metal meat," he informed the girl. She stared at him in shock, not believing her ears. Her, teach this rude asshole how to be a true rebel? Hadn't she told Torn she was through with missions?

"Torn, with all the respect you deserve," she began. 'Which isn't much,' she added silently, "I have no intention of showing these wet-behind-the-ears newbies how to fight or use the city's terminals to get what they want. I already told you, I'm done with missions."

The commander of the Underground smirked.

"Too bad. The Shadow himself wants you teaching him. Besides, Max turned out all right, for a fifteen year old boy with an Unfilled lady for a master. Just do what you did with him and you'll be fine," he ordered her. From the tone of his voice, she could tell there was no use arguing. Unfilled were taught how to read voices at a young age, mostly because it would help them gauge people who might not like their beliefs. There were always those humans who thought the Ecolians were just a bunch of zedonk crap, and didn't hesitate to tell the Unfilled exactly that. But Jessie knew they were real. Most of the people who didn't at least admit they existed also didn't have a temple or an Unfilled around them on a regular basis.

"Now hold on. Don't we get a say in this?" Jak asked angrily. The rat on his shoulder nodded fervently in agreement. Torn smirked and put a hand on Jessie's shoulder.

"Not if you want to see the Shadow. Jessie here is your new partner. She tells you to do something, you do it. As your mentor, she'll be going with you on missions and showing you how to do certain things, so try not to get too unfriendly. She can be really nasty when she's pissed off," he told them. So Jak and the rat wanted to see the Shadow, huh? Well, it was certainly different from most of the reasons people joined the Underground.

The two of them grumbled, but they must have really wanted to see the Shadow, because they didn't try to get Torn to change his mind. All they did was turn to Jessie and give her a wave.

"Well, Jessie, I'm Daxter, but you can call me... Orange Lightning," the rat introduced himself. He was a flirtatious little guy, but Jessie wasn't all that into animals. It wasn't a religious thing, just the fact that she liked animals as pets, not partners. Besides, if she was going to be teaching these two what she knew, she couldn't get into any entanglements. Her relationship with Kyle had proven that she couldn't handle a love life and a life in the Underground.

"I'll stick with Daxter, thanks. Now then, I've got business with Torn, so you two just run along. I'll meet you at the Hip Hog," she dismissed them, putting a fist to her chest in the usual salute of the Unfilled. Without waiting to see what they did, Jessie launched into her report of the situation at the Stadium, and the only sign that they had listened to her was the sound of the door opening and closing. With them went the feeling to get closer to Jak, and while part of her was glad, the traitorous side missed that sensation. But she couldn't afford to be distracted by that. If she was going to be free of those two, she had to train them as well as she could and have Torn approve her graduating them.

'I've really got my work cut out for me,' she thought ruefully.

* * *

 **Author's Notes: To the reviews!**

 **fanficfanaticxoxo (chapter 5, Jan. 31) – Well, the negativity is necessary. The other Ecolians kind of blame her for what happened three years ago, because she was the one who came up with the idea to get rid of the "obstacles." And Umbra has had a few bad ideas in the past, as you'll see eventually.**

 **Guest (chapter 5, Feb. 1) – Oh, she's being used all right, but not by the Dark Makers. Umbra's benefactor is the one who** _ **created**_ **the Dark Makers and the Metal Heads! Ah, but I've said too much already.**

 **See ya later! Wild Cat 214, out!**


	7. Chapter 6: Nice

**Author's Notes: Jessie and Jak got off on the wrong foot, but let's face it. Jessie is pretty rude, Jak is... Jak, and Daxter isn't helping. It's a match made in heaven... or hell. Take your pick. Thankfully, there will be some effort made to repair the relationship between the two, as Jessie takes them out for a... a test run, if you will. Plus, plenty of references to backstory, because everyone LOVES those. Note the sarcasm dripping from that word.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the Jak and Daxter franchise. All of that goes to Naughty Dog.**

* * *

" _If you ever need someone to teach your kids some manners, the Unfilled are the best people for the job. The intense training they give their children, the rules and politeness they drill into them from an early age, make them the most polite and insufferable people around. I should know. My father was one, my brother is one, and I'm one." -Joker Mitchell, shortly before his marriage to Lucy Sagai_

* * *

Jessie finished her report on the Stadium and watched Torn silently. She knew he was going to tell her something about this new mission, and she wanted to know all the details before she started training this guy.

"Jessie, the Shadow is very insistent you take care of showing Jak the ropes. He understands that, after that incident a year ago, you don't want any more missions, but you're too valuable not to help with the effort," he began. She sighed and stood up.

"I get it, I get it. But he gives me a weird feeling, and I've learned to trust my instincts. There's something... off about that guy," Jessie replied resignedly. It was her connection to the Ecolians and the Eco-sensitivity that arose from it that made her say that, though she also blamed the weird feeling, as well. Torn chuckled dryly.

"Damn right there is. But Kor recommended him, and that old geezer has never been wrong about new recruits. Just make sure they don't get in too much trouble. They've already proven they know what they're doing, but they're too reckless, and you're just the thing they need to get them under control. Think you can put up with the two until they're ready?" he responded, for once not the hard soldier he usually was. The young woman nodded and stood up, brushing a few pieces of lint off her pants.

"Of course I can. I'll babysit them if you want me to. What should we do first?" she said thoughtfully. Her commander grunted with dark amusement.

"Why don't you take Jak out to the Pumping Station and see how he handles himself in the field? It'll be easier if you know how he fights," he suggested. She shrugged and stood up.

"Fine. Message me if you have a mission for us," her reply came out respectfully, though the look in her eye was mutinous and, if Torn wasn't so important to the cause, she probably would have wanted to strangle him then and there. Hadn't he realized that she was doing the best she could as a spy in the Stadium? As the mechanic for all the hovers they used? As the source of most of their explosives for when they bombed non-populated areas? Wasn't it bad enough he had her only brother working with Vin on the Eco Grid and encrypting their communications, even though he might be arrested any day now?

Before she snapped and did something potentially violent to the commander of the Underground's forces, Jessie stalked from the room and out to her hover. The Black Orchid was untouched, probably because she had set the parking brake to it before Jak could drive away with it, and as she flipped the switch and climbed into the leather seat, the first thing on her mind was how much she actually wanted to be doing this. It had been ages since she had last done a real mission. Fixing zoomers while spying on Erol, delivering nitroglycerin, and keeping the weapons in top shape wasn't enough to satisfy that urge to fight back against the Baron's injustices.

"Damn it," she muttered, angry at the fact that she wasn't upset by Torn's insisting on her watching over a newbie. She gunned her racer forward, switched zones automatically, and began weaving through traffic to get to the Hip Hog.

 _Minutes later..._

Jessie pulled up outside the saloon, parked the Orchid, and walked inside calmly. The Hip Hog was half full with those people who had decided to start drinking a little early, filling up the booths sporadically and looking at her with drunken curiosity as she went in. Most of them knew who she was. Hell, most of Haven City knew who she was. And if they didn't know her as Jessie the racer, they knew her as Jessie, Jinx's niece, and treated her as such.

The young woman's eyes roved across the saloon until they stopped on one booth. Jak was sitting on the edge, his back to her, and Daxter was sitting on the table across from him talking. This far away, she could get a good look at her new partners without worrying about the complications of an actual conversation. While the orange rat (were they called ottsels? She never could remember) seemed to be easygoing and casual about their new arrangement, his human ride was tense and wary, ready for any sort of fight. Smart, that. Haven City was a dangerous place. Of course, he seemed like he could take care of himself. How else could he have handled Torn's assignment to get into the Underground?

Shaking her head to clear it and get her mind back on track, Jessie walked across the room and slid into the seat next to Jak, firmly shoving him against the wall with her hip.

"Sorry I took so long. The report took longer than I expected," she said casually. Daxter looked at her curiously, and the young man shot her a resentful glare.

"What report?" the latter said grumpily. She shrugged and leaned back against the rough cushioning for the seat.

"The report on the situation in the Stadium. It's my and Jamie's job to keep an eye on Erol while he's there, and to make sure no one decides to rig the races. You'd be surprised by how much money is made gambling on the outcome of the bigger races," the young woman explained. He grunted in reply, thinking about something.

"Okay, let's get one thing straight, Jessie. I don't want you constantly complaining about my methods," Jak began, but she rolled her eyes and held up a finger.

"Before you start your attempt to soothe your bruised ego, let me tell you something. I'm just here to make sure you don't cause too much trouble. Taking out a few KG is okay in my book, but harming innocents or deliberately torturing a Guard is out of the question. I'm your superior officer, for now. If I tell you not to do something, you sure as hell better not do it. Now, I want to see you in action, and I figure the best place for that is the Pumping Station. You don't have clearance for the bazaar or the gardens, yet, so we can't go to the Mountain Temple or Haven Forest for the test run, and I don't feel like going into the sewers any more than necessary. Any objections?" Jessie ordered him quietly, keeping her voice low to dissuade potential eavesdroppers. The orange rat known as Daxter went up to the edge of the table and got into her face.

"Yeah. Why do we have to be watched over like a couple o' kids? I resent that!" he complained. She sighed and flicked his nose gently, making him stumble back a bit.

"I'll be the judge of that."

Jak growled unhappily and made her look at him.

"What's with that attitude? Aren't you supposed to be a bit nicer when you're asking someone to do something?" he said unpleasantly. The words struck a chord in her, one that had been left alone for two and a half years. It reminded the young woman of another young man, another member of the resistance, another time.

 _"If you want something, shouldn't you ask nicely?"_

Mentally, she slapped herself. Now wasn't the time to be thinking about Kyle. Now was definitely not the time to be thinking about that two-faced, lying, son of a... Precursors, even now, he invaded her head.

Jessie scowled and turned away.

"Sorry. This is all just a bit sudden. I'm still getting used to being an active member again," she said quietly, her tone suddenly becoming more gentle than it had been before. The change startled the other two, even as she stood up and frowned down at him.

"Now get those lazy asses of yours out of that booth and come on. We've got a lot to do," Jessie said curtly before turning on her heel and walking out of the Hip Hog. Jak and Daxter shared a look, then followed her bemusedly.

* * *

"Nice job taking out those znorkle tooths."

Jessie's voice rang out a short distance behind Jak, making him smirk and turn to look at her. In her hands was a version of his Blaster mod, though it didn't have the traces of Yellow Eco that most weapons of its sort had. It was strange, but it certainly didn't make the young woman less of a powerful foe. If anything, she was more ruthless _because_ she wasn't backed by Eco.

"Thanks," Jak replied, putting the Morph Gun onto his back. Daxter grinned at the strange-haired girl and waved.

"You're not too bad yourself, honey. Where'd a mechanic like you learn to shoot a gun like that?" the ottsel added flirtatiously. Jessie joined them and rolled her eyes.

"From my uncle. He works for Krew and usually handles sabotage and demolition," she explained, slinging the strap of the gun over her shoulder and brushing some hair out of her eyes. Jak's eyes narrowed at this. Was that why she hadn't seemed to mind the fact that he worked for Krew when they met earlier? She had family involved with the big man?

He nodded, then looked around the Pumping Station. Between the two of them, they had cleared the area of the usual infestation of amphibious monsters like the znorkle tooths and glubs, and the only sounds left were the machinery sending water into the city, the breeze in the plants, and the soft sounds of their breathing. Now all that was left was her "evaluation" and their return to the city.

"So, how'd I do?" the young man asked, raising one green eyebrow. The young woman who had been appointed his partner shrugged, shifting her weight from one leg to the next and folding her arms across her chest.

"Better than I expected. You pass. Now we need to wait until Torn gives us a mission. Give me your communicator," she said firmly, holding out her hand. Jak pulled it out and placed it in her waiting palm, then watched curiously as she did something to it and made it beep.

"There we go. My number is now in there. You need help for some reason, call. It goes two ways, so I'll be using it to tell you where to meet for missions and when," Jessie said, pulling out her own com-unit and inputting something. Probably his own number.

Her sudden shift from the earlier hostile attitude confused him again, and he made no effort to hide his suspicions.

"Jessie, why are you being so nice all of a sudden?" he asked, ignoring the urge to step closer to her. Things for him had been off ever since he met her. No, ever since he got out of the Fortress. The Dark Eco lurking inside of him had changed many things for Jak. He was no longer the sweet boy of Sandover Village, but a hardened young man with a vendetta and some anger issues. Weird feelings were nothing compared to what he had been through. Even if they involved an arguably attractive young woman who was stuck with him for a while.

"Because you deserve a chance. No one should be treated like dirt. I should know that, most of all. Me and my brother... we didn't exactly have an easy childhood. I know it doesn't look like it, but being Unfilled in this damn city, especially nowadays, is hard," she replied quietly, almost apologetically. The young woman drifted off into some sort of reverie, then shook her head and sighed.

"Anyways, come on. I'm pretty sure Torn has already come up with five new ways to torment us while we were gone, and I want some food before I do anything else. I haven't eaten in hours!" she said loudly, beginning to walk away and leave them behind. Jak and Daxter shared a look before following. Jessie was still something of an enigma to them, with her shifting moods and strange periods of reminiscence, but she was also their senior in terms of time in the Underground. Besides, their stomachs weren't going to argue with her order to come.

Shrugging at each other, the two boys walked after the young woman, hoping they might be able to get decent food in them before they had to go on another mission from hell. In that regard, they were united with Jessie against Torn's demonic tasks.

* * *

 **Author's Notes: No reviews, but that's okay. I'll still continue updating, even without feedback or comments. I'm not one of those selfish authors who withholds chapters because of lack of reviews. If I start something, I will finish it. No matter how long it takes.**

 **Anyways, I'll see you next time! Please re** **view!**

 **Wild Cat 214, out!**


	8. Chapter 7: Little Talks

**Author's Notes: Hey, there! I had quite a bit of fun writing this chapter, and it helped me understand some of what I've been trying to write. Because a confused writer is** _ **totally**_ **okay, right? Daxter gets his little alcoholic escapade (wow, that was almost poetic), and you guys get to understand some more about the Unfilled and Jessie. It's a win-win situation.**

 **Daxter: What are you talking about? How is it a win-win?**

 **Wild Cat 214: Because I said so. Now shut up and drink your whiskey.**

 **Daxter: Fine.**

 **I'm glad a lot of people seem to like my story, and I'm glad I decided to rewrite it. I'll let you in on a little bit of backstage info: the Ecolians were originally called the Predecessors, and they weren't going to appear until the second story,** _ **Dark Forces**_ **, where they would ask Jessie for help in taking physical form. They would do some more stuff, but that would be spoilers for what I have planned. Suffice it to say, what I had planned for our heroine was slightly disgusting and involved eating a lot of tiny Eco crystals. Don't ask where they came from. You really don't want to know.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the Jak and Daxter franchise. That is Naughty Dog's property. Unfortunately.**

* * *

 _"Let me make one thing clear. Channelers, Sages, and Vessels are very similar and very different. All can do amazing things related to Eco, but there are key distinctions between the three groups. Channelers can manipulate Eco in small amounts, but can frequently channel more than one type. Sages can channel only one type, but they can do so in larger amounts than channelers, and their skin is frequently discolored because of this. Vessels do not channel raw Eco, but instead use the Ecolians in their bodies to do similar things as the channelers and Sages, with a few exceptions." -Professor Cutter Erwin, during his lesson on the relationship between the Unfilled and Eco_

* * *

The three of them stepped into the airlock, Daxter in his usual spot on Jak's shoulder and Jessie in the front, and as the door hissed shut behind them and the gear in the door before them slid into place, Jak decided to chance a question.

"So, uh, why did you decide to stop going on missions? You aren't that bad," he asked casually. She sighed, but didn't turn around. Her grip on the strap of the rifle did tighten, however, betraying her nervousness.

"Some things happened a year ago. Things I regret doing. That's all you need to know," the young woman replied curtly. The door opened, greeting them with a neutral "Decontamination complete" and Jessie thanking it, and they stepped through into the Water Slums. Once they were "safely" inside the wall, Jessie turned to look at them curiously.

"How old are you two, anyways?" she shot back, raising an eyebrow. Jak shrugged.

"Well, we've decided that I'm about the same age as Daxter, and it's been about two years since we came here, so we're... seventeen," he replied calmly. Her question was mystifying, but knowing someone's age never hurt anyone. She smirked then, and his suspicions rose.

"Heh. Guess what, boys? Your senior partner is younger than you. I'm sixteen, and so is Jamie. I trust you know Jamie?" Jessie informed them amusedly. They thought back to their recent past, and that's when it hit them.

"You mean that guy in the Power Room who helped us rescue Vin? Black hair with blue streaks and light blue eyes?" Daxter said, joining the conversation. She nodded, her grin growing wider.

"He's my twin brother. We're both Unfilled, and we're both in the Underground. While I do field work and help with weapons and vehicles, Jamie works with Vin to keep the city wall up and our communications out of Praxis' hands. It's better for both of us. My missions were mainly sabotage or transportation of goods and personnel, and his were generally related to info, so we don't have to go against our faith to help the cause," came her reply, more open than they had ever seen her in the roughly eight hours they had known her. Maybe watching each other's backs out at the Pumping Station had helped her relax. Whatever the reason, her statement only raised more questions.

"Unfilled? The hell is that?" Jak asked bemusedly. She gave the two of them an incredulous look. The only way she could have been more shocked was if she were stunned by a KG and then struck by lightning.

"You've been here for two years and you don't know who the Unfilled are? Were you living under a rock?" Jessie asked, still stunned by this knowledge. Jak scowled, the memories surging up with a bit of Dark Eco.

"No, I was in prison."

Instantly, her entire demeanor changed. She looked at the ground, then back up. One arm came up to hug him loosely.

"Sorry. I didn't know. The Unfilled are a group of people who sorta worship the Ecolians. Since you don't know what Unfilled means, I guess you don't know who the Ecolians are. They're these beings made of pure Eco. The Eco-quan, as they're sometimes called, work with chosen Unfilled called Vessels to preserve the balance of Eco in the world. In return, they give us advice and knowledge on current problems," she explained solemnly. The two boys were silent, digesting this new information, when – in unison – three stomachs rumbled their displeasure. Jessie glanced from Jak to Daxter and back, waiting, and then started giggling. The boys joined in, and soon they were all laughing quietly, ignoring the strange looks from the few repressed people passing by.

"I guess we all need some food. It's around noon, so that means it's lunchtime. Let me call Jumpy Jon and order for us ahead of time. What do you two want?" she asked, pulling out her com-unit. Jak ordered a burger with all the fixings, Daxter wanted a salad, and she got her usual Triple Hoggy Burger with no cheese and only ketchup, just the way she liked it.

"Okay, now we just have to go to the Hip Hog and pick it up. You boys ready?" The eager, hungry grins on their faces was the only answer she needed, and it made her smile. Maybe that whole "man's stomach" thing was right.

* * *

Jessie was still smiling when they got to the Hip Hog, though it had faded during the trip through the city. Knowing that Jak was just as much a victim of the Baron as she – more so, really – made it easier to understand why Torn and the Shadow had made her his partner. It had been the same with Max, kinda. Poor kid had been experimented on with Eco (Red, Blue, Yellow, and Green, thankfully, though it could have been worse) by people he had trusted once, and she had been the one to help him back onto his feet. Now he was in Kras City with a few others, getting outside help from the people there. Luna had transported them a few weeks ago.

"You okay, Jessie? You look like you just ate something bad," Daxter said, peering at her from Jak's shoulder plate. They had gotten off when she wasn't paying attention, right when they had parked outside the seedy bar, and now both were looking at her funnily. The ottsel seemed concerned, and Jak seemed a bit wary. Of what, she wasn't sure. Maybe how she would treat him now that she knew he had been imprisoned. Or how she would react to something else. The darkness she had seen in his eyes?

She shook herself and got off, discreetly turning on the parking brake. Something told her these two were the ones who had tried to take the Black Orchid the other day.

"It's nothing. I was just thinking about my last partner. He's off in Kras City, so you don't need to worry about him getting all huffy over you being his replacements," Jessie replied, displaying more calm than she felt. "Now come on. I'm hungry enough that even Daxter is starting to look tasty."

Daxter's heated protests followed her into the Hip Hog Heaven Saloon and up to the bar, where a familiar blonde woman was busy cleaning things. The brunette nodded to her fellow Underground fighter. It was only when a few minutes had passed that Jak and Daxter finally joined her at the bar, probably held up outside the bar by some sort of petty argument over her statement. The ottsel half of the duo jumped off onto the countertop while his ride claimed the seat next to Jessie. Again, that feeling surfaced, but now that she was used to it, it was easier to force it down. Honestly, what was wrong with her? It had never been this way before, not even around the other men she had been attracted to in the two and a half years since Kyle. That was attraction. This was... something different. Something scarier.

Fortunately for our heroine, Daxter distracted her from her strange thoughts.

"Hey, sugarplum. You new here? Well, whatcha got that's, uh, hot, and... Wait. I've seen you before," he flirted, and at those last words, Tess' face turned from cheerful to worried. "You're with the Underground."

She put a finger to his mouth to shut him up.

"Shhhh! I'm Tess. Torn sent me to spy on Krew. Play along, and I may be able to get my hands on a few of Krew's secrets," the blonde woman explained quietly. During her little break from character, Jessie had seen the ottsel's eyes flit from her face to a spot about a foot lower, and she had, in return, rolled her own eyes. Men.

"Oooohh... I love 'undercover' work, baby!" he replied enthusiastically, gesturing with one paw that he was thinking about something else. "But, ah, two can work better than one. Lemme help you out." With that, he jumped down behind the bar, to Tess' giggles and Jak's eyeroll.

"Wow! There sure are a lot of bottles back here," Daxter commented. Jessie looked at the ceiling in silent prayer. This was not going to end well for the ottsel.

"Whew! Ooh, that's, oh, that, that goes down, ah..." Her partner's face slowly changed from one of concern to an awkward grin, and she did have to admit he wasn't half bad when he was smiling. Tess rolled her eyes.

"Ooh, boy, gee, ya s'pose that's real gold floatin' in there?" he asked, his voice slurred by the alcohol. Tess gave him a look of alarm as he chugged it down, and Jessie sighed.

"Is he always like this?" she murmured to Jak. He shrugged.

"Not that I'm aware of. But when it comes to women... well..." he replied, looking at the blonde woman out of the corner of his eye. She understood and nodded slowly.

"I see," she replied drily. He smiled again, that tiny little grin, and they went back to listening to Daxter drink more than he should.

"How 'bout this purple stuff?" The sounds of an entire bottle of what must have been some of Krew's special brew being drunk in one go came from wherever he had squirmed into, and he took a huge breath when he was done. At the same time, Jessie could feel the air shift behind her – Krew's remarkable mass floating through the air – and she and Jak turned.

"Jak, I need you and the talking rat to go around and make a few collections for me," he said hungrily, ignoring Jessie's presence. He was already familiar with her and knew she wouldn't go around talking about his business. After all, he employed her uncle, and while two mechanics could make a decent amount of money in the Stadium, it wouldn't be enough to feed three people and a muse, or to pay the bills for their apartment.

Daxter chose that moment to pop up from behind the bar, his face stuck in a cheesy, drunk grin. He waved loosely.

"Hey, there, five chins... How's crimes?" he slurred. Jak had to hide his silent chuckle behind a hand at the bemused glare on Krew's face, and Jessie smirked. Ah, now it began.

"What's his problem, 'ey?!" the crime lord asked grumpily. This seemed to rile up the ottsel, who hiccuped angrily (at least, as angrily as a hiccup can get) and climbed further onto the counter of the bar.

"Nothin'... I'm just fine... mind your own business..." he retorted fuzzily, flopping onto his back the next moment. "I sometimes feel so very..."

Jessie tuned out his drunken mumblings right then. Her uncle sometimes got like that after hitting the happy juice, and it was best to ignore whatever they said in the haze. Of course, sometimes they said really entertaining things, but right now, she was more interested in what Krew had to say to Jak.

"Listen, I have six 'clients' around town who are about to make money drops for me. I need you to collect each moneybag as fast as you can and 'take care' of any guards who get curious, mmmmmn. Get to a moneybag too late, and some townie might pick it up," he muttered to the young man who had been assigned to her, not noticing that both Jessie and Tess were listening to him, the latter slowly wiping the inside of a glass. The brunette rolled her eyes when she realized what he meant. It was just his usual round of collecting money owed him by some poor souls who hadn't realized just what sort of deal they were making with the devil. It sucked that Jak had to be involved, but that was life. Only Saffron and her Yellow Ecolians could tell what lay in store, and they weren't always very forthcoming with the information. Something about keeping the timestream from being too disrupted, and the fact that people who know the future tend to do crazy things.

"DRRYY!" Daxter cut in suddenly, startling the four people who weren't wetter than a fish. He looked at Krew lazily, trying to hold onto some thought that had coalesced from his drunken mind.

"Ya know what's da trouble with you, Krew? You got no vision... This place could be a real swingin' joint... Hop Heg Hiven with more dancin', more mac'n, more WOMEN!" the ottsel slurred, throwing one arm wide to indicate Jessie and Tess. The women he meant shared a look and went back to covertly listening to Krew and Jak talk, even as Daxter kept rambling and trying to do... _something_ to Jak, who held up a hand to stop him.

"Just collect all 14 moneybags before they disappear and bring them back here. If you lose even one bag, then don't come back, 'ey!" the big gang lord (in both senses) ordered. After he floated away, Jak gave her a helpless look as Daxter began kissing his hand and declaring his love for his friend. She chuckled and picked Daxter up by the scruff of his neck.

"Go. We'll keep an eye on him and sober him up," Jessie said with a smirk, waving her hand to show he should get moving. He nodded and walked out of the bar, and she could hear the thrum of some other hover – not her precious baby – as he drove away.

As soon as Jak was out the door, Tess leaned over the bar conspiratorially.

"So, who's the guy?" she whispered excitedly. Jessie recoiled and gave her a confused stare.

"W-what? What are you talking about?" she stammered uncertainly. The blonde woman rolled her eyes.

"Jessie, I haven't seen you smile like this since... well..." she trailed off, trying to avoid mentioning Kyle. "Since a long time ago." The only sounds in the bar were the muted music, the soft background noise of the Port and the street outside, and Daxter's inebriated mutterings; Jessie had gone tight-lipped at the thought of her ex. The man who had betrayed her trust so many times over with his lies.

"Promise you won't tell anyone?" she murmured. Tess nodded rapidly and Jessie sighed, unsure how to put voice to her thoughts.

"I dunno. Jak... he makes me feel like I've drunk an entire bottle of Tabasco sauce. Alive and kicking, you know? But there's more to it than that. The feeling I get... it's not like anything else I've known. I want to, I don't know, get as close to him as I physically can, glue myself to his side, always be near him. I don't think it's love, but... it started right when I first met him face to face. Do you have any idea what it is?" Jessie asked bemusedly. Her comrade frowned with the great effort known as human thought (a strenuous feat undertook by all and accomplished by few) then shrugged.

"Not really. But you're his partner, right? Maybe you can figure it out while you're working together," Tess supplied helpfully. The younger woman chuckled drily and brushed some hair out of her face.

"Maybe, Tess. Just maybe. If we don't kill each other before then," she joked, grinning widely. Her friend giggled, and that seemed to make Daxter recover from his little stunt with the booze.

"Whoa... I'm never doing that again," he mumbled, shaking his head to clear away some of the fuzziness that still remained. Jessie snickered.

"Aw, did poor Daxter get a hangover? That's what happens when you drink too much. Cases like this are one of the reasons I'm glad the Unfilled don't let you drink until you're eighteen and already past the whole Vessel initiation thing," she admitted gratefully. The ottsel gave her a funny look.

"Seriously? No wonder you're kinda uptight. None whatsoever?" Daxter asked doubtfully. She nodded.

"It's not so much a no-hangovers sort of thing, but more a no-polluting-the-body thing. If a potential Vessel is tainted in some way, the Ecolians won't choose them, even if they're, personality-wise, a better candidate than their competition. Same thing for tobacco products, drugs, and sex. None of it until you've either been rejected or initiated. It's one big abstinence program. Of course, for the initiated, there are some limits. They can have sex, and they can drink alcohol, but not too much. They want to make sure the connection stays strong, and defiling the body, as my teachers put it, weakens that link between Vessel and Ecolian," Jessie explained casually, rattling off what she had learned at age twelve. He and Tess nodded slowly, understanding part of it.

"Do a lot of the rejected Unfilled become heavy drinkers, then?" she asked. Jessie shook her head.

"About 99 percent of the time, no. The values that are imprinted onto our minds usually means that adults who don't become Vessels don't immediately start binge drinking and chain smoking. Sometimes, they even become minor sorts of Vessels, I guess, in that they establish a connection with an Ecolian. The Vessels are considered special because they connect to the highest ranking Ecolians of each type of Eco, the cardinals, but anyone who's Unfilled can potentially 'channel' an Ecolian. It all just depends on the person." She was used to explaining her religion to non-Unfilled – after all, most of the Unfilled were either dead or living somewhere like Kras City, having escaped Praxis' regime – so when Daxter raised a hand, she nodded.

"Yeah, Daxter?"

"When you say 'channel,' what do you mean?" he asked carefully. The young woman shrugged, and as Tess went into the back to get something from the kitchen, she explained.

"Well, you've heard of Sages and channelers, right? Sages can 'channel' a lot of a specific type of Eco, which usually colors their skin, and channelers are like minor versions of that. Mar was a channeler, and legends say he could channel all six types of Eco. The Unfilled, especially the Vessels, have a version of that with the Ecolians. We can't actually manipulate raw Eco, but since the Eco-quan are technically living Eco and can manipulate their bodies on their own, when one is inside a Vessel, that person can do things related to that type of Eco. Sometimes they get special weapons, or skills, or can even manipulate the element associated with that type of Eco," Jessie replied enthusiastically. She had always liked learning about this part of being a Vessel, how they were both similar and different to the legendary Sages and channelers of Mar's time.

"Cool. You know, Jak's a channeler. Or at least, he used to be. I don't really know if he is anymore," Daxter commented offhandedly. Her eyes widened in shock.

"Seriously? That's incredible! What could he channel?" she inquired eagerly.

"What could who channel?" the young man's voice called out across the room. They turned to see Jak walking back into the bar, a large bag of money in his hand. His friend waved, and she grinned.

"You. Daxter says you could channel, and I wanted to know what type," Jessie told him warmly. He scowled and sat down at the bar, letting the ottsel get back onto his shoulder.

"The four basic types, and Light Eco, but that was... a long time ago," Jak replied. Her jaw dropped.

"No way... you mean you could actually channel Red, Yellow, Blue, Green, and Light Eco? I am officially impressed." He gave her a funny look, but before he could ask her what she meant, Krew floated down.

"Mmmm. Quite the money collectors, 'ey? Here's a gun upgrade. Now get out! I need my beauty nap," he ordered, tossing Jak what looked like an ammo capacity increase. He was almost asking for what Daxter said next.

"Trust me, brother. There aren't enough hours in the day," he quipped, earning a smothered giggle from Jessie and a smirk from Jak. The Unfilled girl could almost feel the furious embarrassment coming off his rolls of fat, and made sure he was completely gone before she looked at them. Just when she was about to ask Jak how it went, her com-unit beeped. She pulled it out and nearly smacked her head when she realized just how late it was. She still had to meet Keira at the garage!

Her stomach growled unhappily and reminded her of another thing she needed to do.

"Precursors! Jak, I'm gonna go get us some food, and then I have to go. I forgot I had to meet someone today," she rushed, jumping to her feet and nearly running into the kitchen. Tess was carrying four glasses of water on a tray, but when she saw Jessie run inside, she stopped and stared at her quizzically.

"Jessie? What's wrong?" the blonde asked. She smiled nervously and saw their food sitting on the counter nearest the back. Jumpy Jon had already made their food and had marked which box was which, so she simply grabbed them and shot her friend a sheepish look.

"I have to go. See you later?" she answered. Tess nodded brightly.

"See you!" she chirped. Jessie nodded and hurried out the door. She quickly placed the two boys' food in front of them and waved hurriedly.

"I'll see you guys when I see ya. Don't get in too much trouble without me," she called out just before exiting the bar. One hand loaded her food into the small compartment below her seat and the other released the parking brake; she swung one leg over the seat and sat down, then began racing towards the Stadium. There, Keira was waiting near the entrance to their garage, tapping one foot against the ground.

"There you are! I've been waiting for hours!" the teal-haired woman grumbled affably. Jessie rolled her eyes.

"No, you haven't. I checked your hover. The engine was still warm," she retorted cheerfully. The two women smiled at each other, and as Jessie pushed herself up onto the hover lift Keira stood by, they began talking.

"So, why did you not want that racer yesterday?" she asked straightforwardly. The other young woman flushed and folded her arms across her chest.

"Well, you see, uh... it's kinda embarrassing," Keira began awkwardly. Her friend rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, so? I've heard some pretty weird shit, Keira. You would not believe some of the things that go on in this city," she countered, not willing to let her worm her way out of the explanation. The teal-haired woman sighed.

"I didn't want you to be replaced by some new guy I barely know. You were one of my first friends when I came here, Jessie, and you mean a lot to me. Jamie, as well. I didn't want him to go if he didn't like your replacement," she said, blushing bright pink all the while. Our heroine grinned impishly. So Keira did like Jamie, at least a little bit. Maybe more than a bit, but she had to proceed carefully.

"Oh, I think he would have stayed, even if he hated the guy. Jamie's a good guy, and he'd never leave you over something petty like that," Jessie said casually, looking over at his station in the garage. It was meticulously clean, with every tool and every part in its own place, much like Jamie's attitude toward the world. He always thought that everything had a place in the universe, even if they couldn't find it at the moment. It was why he was so good at helping Vin; his relaxed personality helped calm the technological genius down enough to stay normal. It was also why she thought Jamie and Keira should totally get together. The teal-haired woman needed someone she could rely on in this crazy city, and her brother was definitely reliable. Of course, there was also her own personal feelings in the matter, and her revulsion towards Erol, but those were minor things.

"You think so? Well, then, I'll try my best. But this guy didn't seem very nice," Keira replied distastefully. Jessie shrugged. Jak wasn't the nicest guy in the city, that's for sure, but he was a good person. She could feel it, in that part of her that still believed what her parents had said about blue eyes. Heroes were blessed with eyes of blue, and the fact that Jak had once been a channeler supported that idea. Historically, channelers had always ended up helping others and becoming heroes. Who's to say it wouldn't happen to her partner?

"Eh, he's not so bad, once you get to know him. I met him earlier. He wanted to use the JET-Board again, but I turned him away, seeing as you weren't here," she replied coolly. Keira rolled her eyes and stretched, raising her arms over her head.

"If you say so. I still have my doubts," she said skeptically. Jessie nodded.

"And I don't blame you. I'm still not sure about him myself. Now, when he comes again, you promise to at least be civil toward him? I don't want you to miss out on the races again because of me," she asked, holding out a hand. Her friend nodded and shook the outstretched hand.

"It's a promise. Now, I'm gonna take the JET-Board and tune it up a bit, make sure it's ready for more use. Say hi to Jamie for me," the young woman said kindly. She grinned.

"I will. See you later, boss!"

"Don't call me that!"

Jessie laughed as she left the Stadium garage and went home. Hearing that Jak had been a channeler had reminded her, distantly, of a book her parents' had owned that talked about channelers throughout history.

* * *

Jessie sat up in her bed, turning a page in the book every so often as Sparkle buzzed happily against her side. Eventually, she got to the part she was looking for, the one on famous channelers throughout history.

 _"There have only been five instances where a channeler saved the world. The first was a nameless hero who kept the Dark Eco Sages Gol and Maia from opening a Dark Eco Silo and unleashing Dark Eco upon the world. The second was Mar, founder of Haven City and the first in a long line of just rulers of the city. The third was Mar's great-great-great-great-granddaughter, Lyra, who used her powers to drive off an especially large Metal Head force when they attacked the city. The fourth was her son, Wyll, who improved upon the Eco Grid that sustains Haven City and protects it from outside threats. The fifth was a young woman in Kras City who used her powers to help hundreds of people after a particularly spectacular incident during a Combat Racing Championship event. These moments were generally times of great crisis for humanity, and illustrate the importance of channelers to the human race. However, as time passed, the channeling trait began to die out as more and more channelers were killed by Metal Heads or betrayed by their own kind, and today, few lines outside of the House of Mar are capable of channeling Eco."_

Comprehension was slow to come to the girl, but eventually it did. Jak was probably a member of those other family lines that could channel. He couldn't be a part of the House of Mar. After all, the king and queen were dead, had been for over three years, and their five year old child was missing. Jessie couldn't remember the king's name (she had met him once, when she was four, and didn't even remember his face), but she knew the queen's name. Zena. She had been a Light Unfilled, having formed a connection to a minor Light Ecolian, and she had used that link to help with politics and other volatile parts of being a queen of Haven City. The Unfilled had mourned her death greatly when the Eco pox had taken her, not three months before the Dead Town Tragedy that claimed the lives of their six Vessels.

That reminder of her parents' deaths made Jessie cringe. She and Jamie had had something else happen that fateful day. More than just the deaths of the six Vessels had occurred, but they would never admit it. Not when revealing the truth, telling her people about the green mark on her chest that was only visible in mirrors, might result in her being banished to the Wasteland. Breaking the rules of the Unfilled, especially the one concerning channeling the cardinals, could be disastrous. They were rules for a reason.

So Jessie dogeared the book, placed it on her nightstand, and turned off the light, curling up underneath her blankets numbly. While she slept, something inside of her churned, using the pain in her heart to worsen the bad dreams, and in her nightmares, two people kept reappearing.

Jak... and the nameless child.

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Reviews! YAY!**

 **rosewhip889 (chapter 7, Apr. 15) – Yeah, Jak does need to be knocked down a few pegs sometimes. Jessie isn't really the sort of girl to take crap from any guy. I mean, she does have a twin brother and an uncle as her only family, so Jak isn't too much for her to handle. Especially when that uncle is Jinx. And thanks for the compliments! :D**

 **Guest (chapter 7, Apr. 16) – Why, thank you, I quite liked it myself. From a gamer's perspective, some of those missions were flipping hard! Like when you need to transport the four Underground agents to new safe houses, or when you're in the Water Slums after you get a piece of the Seal and you have to fight the KG. Although, that last one wasn't really a mission from Torn... but it was still really hard!**

 **But yeah, no matter if it's good or bad, they gotta start somewhere. This is that place.**

 **Basket in a Nutcase (chapter 7, Apr. 16) – WOOT! WOOT WOOT, WOOT, WOOT!**

 **I'm glad we had this talk :3**

 **(chapter 7, Apr. 20) – It makes me happy, too :3 I'll do my best to meet your expectations!**

 **Wild Cat 214, out!**


	9. Chapter 8: Back In Black

**Author's Notes: Sorry about the long wait! I got caught up in working on a story that I've been having trouble with, but I'm better now! Honest! It's kinda funny, but this story has already exceeded the original in terms of follows and favorites, as well as reviews. Who would've thought?**

 **We're also going to see a little bit of Jamie's perspective, since Jessie's gotten plenty of spotlight. But it won't last for long. She and Jak have a mission to do.**

 **Disclaimer: Jak and Daxter aren't mine. If they were, I'd be two-timing them (get it? 'cause they'd be "mine?" Yeah, I know it's terrible).**

* * *

" _Water is the primary element associated with Blue Eco (lightning being the secondary), one of the most vital substances to life, and one of the things Haven City is best known for. The Pumping Station just outside its walls supply the battered city with fresh water, unlike that of the Water Slums and Port, and is one of the more vital locations. Without the Pumping Station, this once-noble city would soon crumble." -Frederick Jackson, brother to Quentin Jackson and supervisor of the Haven City Water Committee_

* * *

Jamie came home late that night, and for once, the door didn't try to kill him as he passed underneath. Maybe RASS had finally accepted that Jamie hadn't really been trying to delete her from the apartment's mainframe, but had actually been trying to give her an update to the list of people automatically allowed inside. Or maybe it was the fact that Jessie seemed to be whimpering behind her door.

He opened the door to her room hastily and rushed in, grabbing her shoulders gently. His sister had tear tracks running down her face, which still glistened in the light streaming in from her open door, and when he gently shook her, Jessie whimpered again and tried getting free of his gentle, yet firm, grasp.

"Jessie! It's me! Wake up!" he implored worriedly, shaking her a bit more. Her eyes flashed open, wet with tears not yet shed, and when she realized her brother was there, she sat up and collapsed against his shirt, quietly sobbing. Jamie held her close, silently begging the Precursors, the Ecolians, and whoever else might be listening out there to help his sister.

After she managed to recover from whatever nightmare she had been having, Jamie left and got her a short glass of water. When he came back, his sister had wiped her eyes dry on the corner of the blanket and was absently stroking Sparkle's fur, the muse chittering quietly in comfort. She had turned on her bedside lamp, as well, so the room was filled with a warm, comforting glow. Jessie took the water gratefully and drank about half in one swallow, then sighed.

"Thanks, Jamie. Sorry I broke down like that," she murmured, the ghost of her dream still lurking behind her eyes. He sat down on the bed beside her and took her hand.

"Hey, it's okay, Jessie. I don't blame you. It's been rough lately," he replied soothingly, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles gently. She nodded.

"Did you take your medicine?" At her sheepish half-smile, he groaned exasperatedly.

"Jessie! The doctor told you to take it before you went to sleep! It's no wonder you had a bad dream!" he scolded, but his heart wasn't in it. She rolled her eyes.

"I'm sorry, okay? I was reading a book, and I forgot to take the pills. I won't forget next time, I swear," Jessie promised, her sharp tongue coming back as the light banished whatever demons had been tormenting her. He shook his head.

"Okay... Was it the usual stuff?" Jamie asked, his tone turning gentle. She nodded, then, after a bit of thought, shrugged.

"Mostly. There were a few new faces, though."

At this, he sighed and hugged her again.

"Just remember, Jessie, the past can't hurt you. What happened that year is over and done with. It can't do anything more to you than what already happened," he told her firmly. She nodded, then pushed him away slightly.

"Got it. I'm going back to sleep. Can you tell Keira I probably won't be able to come in tomorrow? Torn's given me the job of being Jak's partner," Jessie said with a wry smile. Her brother grinned.

"Oh, so you're the one he forced that handful on. He and Daxter aren't giving you any trouble, are they?" She smirked.

"Nothing I can't handle. What about you and Vin? Anything up with the Eco Grid?" his sister countered. Jamie shook his head.

"Everything seems fine. Kor came by and chatted with us, and he brought the kid with him. He seems to be eating a lot better now," he supplied, knowing that would make her smile. It did, though it soon changed to a thoughtful glance.

"You know, Kor warned me about Jak the other day. Said I needed to be careful of the newest recruit. I mean, I can understand why, since he's a pretty good fighter, but he hasn't been all that bad. Just kinda aggressive and angsty, but that's normal for a teenage boy. I mean, look at you!" Jessie joked, earning a light punch in the arm from him.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm a real mess of hormones and emotions right now. Now take your medicine and go to sleep. You're gonna need your rest tomorrow," he replied dryly. She laughed as he stood and walked out, and he stopped in the doorway long enough to watch her down the small white pills the doctor said would help her sleep without nightmares, then turned and went to his own room, shutting the door behind him.

* * *

Jessie woke up on a much better note, this time in the morning, and did her usual morning things (using the bathroom, taking a shower, brushing her teeth, getting dressed, eating breakfast, etc.) just before heading out. She wanted to stop by the Hideout and get more on Jak and Daxter from Torn before going out with them again. Something about Kor's warning seemed a bit weird to her.

That was when large, calloused hands covered her eyes and plunged her into darkness. She tensed up, but soon relaxed when it became clear who it was.

"How's my favorite niece doing?" a man's voice said from behind her. Jessie smirked and lifted his hands away, spinning slowly to look at her uncle, Jinx. He grinned at her and shifted the cigar in his mouth to the other side.

"'Morning, Uncle Jinx," she replied easily. "I'm doing okay, I guess."

He nodded sympathetically. "I heard you had another nightmare. Jamie told me when I woke up. He also told me to tell you that he'll take care of Keira for you."

The young woman nodded slowly.

"Well, if I don't see him today, can you tell him I said thanks?" The man's smirk returned swiftly and he briefly saluted her. "Can do, O niece of mine. Speaking of which, have you met Krew's newest boy? Can you tell me what he's like?"

Jessie blinked. "You haven't met him yet? That's weird. I guess Krew hasn't sent Jak out on a mission with you and the others yet. Well, Jak's kinda difficult, but he's a decent fighter and he'll cover your back for sure. He's my partner," she informed him casually. Jinx absorbed this information readily and nodded.

"Thanks, Jessie. I'm off to work. Don't stay up too late; it's a school night," he said playfully, rubbing her head gently and mussing her hair. She rolled her eyes, ignoring the faint twinge that shot through her, and waved him off. "Bye, Uncle Jinx!"

When he had left and the door had hissed shut behind him, Jessie leaned back against the wall and sighed. She had never told what remained of her family, but she missed going to school. Sure, it was very rigid and confining, but it taught her so much about her people that her parents couldn't. Not anymore. When the Baron had shut down the school after the Dead Town Tragedy, claiming it was a waste of time that could be spent on fighting the Metal Heads, she and Jamie had been heartbroken, like so many other Unfilled children left in the city. Now she could never find out more about her people, not unless someone was willing to risk the Baron's wrath and teach her in secret. Yeah, like that was likely to happen.

Jessie gritted her teeth and grabbed her bag, with its weapon and some vital supplies. Time for her to go to work, as well.

* * *

As she was driving the Black Orchid towards the Hideout, the words of a nearby propaganda post caught her attention, and she slowed down and stopped so she could listen better.

" _...will eventually kill you, Jak. Its destructive effects cannot be stopped. Once you are in its chaotic grip, it will not let you go until you slide into insanity. Turn yourself in. And I will kill you mercifully and painlessly. It is your only way out._ "

Normally, she ignored Praxis' usual drivel, but this was different. Instinct told her he was addressing her partner, not just the Underground. Somehow, Jak and Praxis were connected, if he was going out of his way to record an entire message devoted to telling Jak to give in and die, and something told her it started in the prison.

"Who are you, Jak?" she murmured to herself, gunning the motor as Praxis' recorded voice began nattering about how he was wounded during the last spectacular failure of an assault on the Metal Head Nest. Questions like this and more kept bothering her and nearly got her into a wreck with a blocky purple two-seater while driving, and it was with some measure of relief that she finally pulled up outside the Underground and went inside.

There, she found Jak and Daxter sleeping in the lower half of one of the bunks lining the entrance hall. Torn didn't seem to have left his own personal room (being the second-in-command gave him a few perks), so she sat on the empty bunk across from them and contemplated them curiously.

So far, all she knew about them was that Jak had been in prison for two years, that he used to be a channeler, that he and Praxis had a score to settle, and that he and Daxter were the best of friends. But what else was there to these two? What piece was she missing that would connect all of this together?

"Well, look what the muse dragged in. You're here early, Jessie," Torn's cynical voice echoed over the mostly empty room towards her, and she twisted in her seat to look at him.

"I wanted to get a head start on the day. Besides, I just learned I needed to ask you a few things, Torn."

She stood up and walked over to him, leaning closer to make their conversation a bit more private.

"Is there something you're not telling me about Jak? And what did you mean when you brought up Max last time?" she hissed quietly, trying to avoid the topic of their discussion overhearing. The former KG commander sighed and set a hand on her shoulder.

"Jessie, don't say I didn't warn you. This story ain't pretty."

"Neither is the war, but I can still handle it. Spill."

He rubbed the back of his head and let out one long, heavy breath.

"During his little... 'stay' in the Fortress, the Baron used Jak as a lab rat. Pumped a lot of Dark Eco into him. At least, that's what our spies in the Fortress say, and Kor agrees. He's a bit like Max, in that way. Be careful with him, Jessie. Don't get him too angry. I'd rather not have your brother and uncle after my head because of a mistake I made that cost you your life," Torn said wryly. Jessie was still. _That_ was what had happened to him in the prison? Dark Eco had been forced into his system? Even her _mother_ had never put up with that, and she had been the Dark Vessel! Besides, this was raw Eco, not the treated stuff the Ecolians used whenever they went inside their Vessels. The raw, unfinished material was ten times as dangerous, and Jak had had it pumped into him?

"Damn him..." she muttered furiously. The young woman had known Praxis was awful, but this crossed the line into monstrous.

"Easy, tigorilla. Don't get too outraged here. I still need you to keep an eye on them and keep them out of too much trouble, and that's difficult when you're joining in on the rage fest," he cautioned her, and Jessie reluctantly calmed down, letting her anger simmer on the back burner—for now.

They parted, Jessie returning to her spot near Jak and Daxter and Torn settling near his table. It was only a few minutes later that the young man stirred and sat up. He seemed mildly surprised to see Jessie, but didn't say anything beyond a simply lifting of his eyebrows. Daxter, on the other hand, made a big fuss over it and complained about how he had enough people watching him sleep here and didn't need another face in the lineup. That seemed to be the cue for them both to get up, and as Jak and Daxter went towards the showers, Jessie joined Torn at the table.

About half an hour later, the door to the showers slammed open and caused the lamp above the war table to rock back and forth. Jak seemed somewhat apologetic when it happened and soon joined them, Daxter hopping onto the table.

"So, what do you have for us this time, Torn?" Jessie began the meeting, trying to ignore Daxter making faces at the man whenever the lamp swung away from him and cast him in shade.

"Cutting to the chase, huh? Typical. One of my old guard comrades was sent to the Pumping Station. There's been no word from the patrol, and after what you guys ran into out there, I'm afraid she may need some help," Torn informed them. Jessie nodded in comprehension. He must have been talking about Ashelin, the daughter of the current usurping ruler of Haven City. They weren't exactly friends, but the two women considered each other a good ally and trusted one another. It was the best they could hope for at the moment, since Jessie had yet to ascend to her position as the Lodestar Vessel her people needed and Ashelin was in no hurry to take over from her father.

Jessie had known she was the Lodestar Vessel ever since the day she had accidentally brushed her hand against the throne of Azura and hadn't been fried on the spot – in front of many, many witnesses, to boot. It had seemed like such a big deal at the time, though she hadn't understood why until she was older. Now, she just needed to mature to the right age so she could finally help her people in the best way she could: as a leader and one of the most powerful Unfilled seen in centuries, on par with Gemini.

"Did you say 'she'?" Jak interjected curiously. Torn glared at the three of them.

"Don't even think about it. STOP THAT!" he shouted at Daxter, grabbing the lamp suddenly and shooting daggers at the ottsel. "This is serious, you moron!"

Jak raised a hand to smack Daxter and the ottsel let out a battle cry, settling into a horrible mockery of a martial arts position that would have made Jessie's instructor wail in agony if he saw it.

"That's right. Don't mess with the sugar," he quipped, and Jessie reached over from behind him and flicked his head roughly. He whirled to glare at her, but at the first sight of her narrowed eyes, cut off whatever he had been about to say.

"This 'friend' of mine has helped the Underground many times before. Go back to the Pumping Station and take a look around. Render assistance if needed. Now get your squirrelly ass outta here," he snarled, sending a pointed look directly at Daxter before withdrawing. When the man had withdrawn to a safe distance, the ottsel blew a raspberry at him, just before Jessie snatched him by the scruff of his neck and schlepped him outside.

Once they had left the building, Jessie plopped him unceremoniously on the rough ground and glared at him.

"Daxter, I know you're technically a teenage boy, but can you tone it down a notch? This isn't just a game. This is war, and people get hurt. The ones like you, the ones that treat it like a joke, they're the ones that die first. You got me?" she growled softly, looking down at him in disappointment. He sighed and nodded.

"Yeah, yeah, I hear ya. Now let's get cracking. I want some breakfast before we go anywhere," he replied, climbing up onto Jak's shoulder. The two elfin humans shared an exasperated look and walked over to the Black Orchid, waiting patiently for the second seat to come out.

* * *

The drive through the city to the Water Slums and the gate to the Pumping Station was surprisingly quiet. Perhaps Jessie's talk with Daxter had driven home that this wasn't just a lark. This was serious business they were involved in.

Even the journey through the Pumping Station was silent, though Jessie did keep staring at the water near them while they jumped across the rotating machinery and muttering under her breath about "damn security devices" or something like that. It wasn't until they got to the top of the Station that she spoke.

"I wonder what happened to the rest of the patrol. We've seen no sign of anyone along the way," Jessie murmured thoughtfully, taking a brief break before they advanced to load her weapon with strange bullets that matched her Eco-less gun.

"Maybe Metal Heads got 'em?" Daxter suggested helpfully. She shook her head.

"If they had, we still would have found something. Signs of a struggle, or blood, or dropped pieces of equipment. There's been nothing. Something's going on, and I don't like it," she replied, slinging her rifle back over her shoulder. The young woman stood up and motioned for them to follow her.

As they entered a clearing at the top with a strange rock sticking out of the middle, Daxter hopped off of Jak's shoulder. Jessie quietly noted the Hellcat cruiser parked near the rock, and the Precursor bronze seal jutting from said rock. That was the seal for the House of Mar, the founder of Haven City and close friend of Gemini. What was it doing way out here?

"Ehhh, what the heck are we doing risking our lives to rescue some old Krimzon Guard hag anyway?! She's probably got more facial hair than me!" he exclaimed, using one of his feet to scratch at his chin, as if proving his point. Jessie rolled her eyes and scanned the perimeter. Her Unfilled senses were still wary, so when the red-haired woman dropped down and held an Eco pistol to Jak's head, she had her rifle pointed at her straight away.

"Who the hell are you two?" she demanded. Jessie slowly lowered her gun, narrowing her eyes. It appeared Ashelin hadn't seen her when she came down, since her clothing sort of blended into the stone around them.

"Mmm. I do love a woman in uniform," Daxter hummed, and it took all of Jessie's self-control not to throw a rock at his head. "Wanna bark some orders at me? Woof-woof!"

The situation got even worse when he jumped onto Jak's incapacitated chest and leaned towards the woman. "I'm your soldier on the front lines of love!" He jumped back down to the ground and, as if addressing an invisible person, said, "Waiter, foxhole for two!"

Ashelin let go of Jak to point her pistol at the more irritating threat... or rather, a certain part of his anatomy. Clearly, Jessie wasn't the only one annoyed by the truly awful attempts at flirtation.

"Keep talking, and I'll raise your voice a couple of octaves," she threatened with a growl.

"Easy... Torn asked us to help you," Jak supplied. She scoffed. "I don't need help... but YOU might. We've got company."

Jessie turned to see the Metal Heads dropping down from the short, rocky walls around them. Juice Goons and Spyder Gunners. Her favorite type.

'Well, I can always get Jamie that juice rod he wants to experiment on,' she thought wryly, cocking her rifle and aiming carefully.

* * *

The battle went surprisingly well, all things considering. Jak easily took out quite a few with kicks and shots from his Morph Gun, Ashelin used her pistol with the expertise all KG members attained, and Jessie willingly used her rifle to the max. Despite what seemed to be a setback, the gun packed a powerful punch that easily pierced the armor of the Metal Heads, and soon Jessie had a couple of the juice rods she wanted strapped to her back. Jak and Jessie had, somewhere along the line, silently agreed to split the Skull Gems, and each had roughly half of the haul in their packs. They were left with only a few scratches, some minor burns from the Juice Goons' rods and blasts from the Spyder Gunners, and several bruises that would hurt like hell later.

The Metal Heads had been reduced to nothing but blobs of Dark Eco that Jak silently absorbed, confirming Torn's statement that he had been experimented on with the lethal stuff. Jessie didn't say anything, even when her eye caught his as one blob went into his skin with a tiny bolt of purple lightning and a lightening of the skin it contacted. Jak had his secrets, and she had hers. She would keep this one for him.

"So, Jessie, nice to see you back in the field," Ashelin commented after the battle. The young woman shrugged.

"Special assignment from Torn and the Shadow. I keep an eye on them and make them into proper Underground agents. It's not as bad as you'd think," she explained nonchalantly. The older woman nodded and began walking towards the Hellcat, which was probably how her team got out to this area in the first place. This must have been where they had been lost, going by the signs of a fight Jessie could glimpse in the foliage behind the large hover. No wonder they hadn't seen anything further along the path.

"Watching me take care of those Metal Heads was, ahh... pretty... _exciting_... wasn't it, sugar?" Daxter tried flirting with her again. Ashelin wisely ignored him and continued on. She climbed into the pilot's seat of the Hellcat and turned it on, blasting air across the ground and forcing Daxter back a few steps. Jessie stepped closer to them, standing next to Jak in case anything too overtly "Daxter" happened.

"Hey, sweet stripes, gimme them digits so I can look you up some time. We'll party hard, big city style!"

The KG woman looked at the two humans, but mostly at Jak.

"Tell Torn Baron Praxis is planning something big. I think it has to do with that symbol," she shouted over the engines of the huge vehicle. Jak seemed confused at this, so he shouted back, "What is it?"

"It's the Seal of the House of Mar. The founder of Haven City. We're being sent out on 'suicide missions' to locate artifacts from the time of his rule. If curiosity's worth dying for, you can ask the blind old soothsayer in the bazaar named Onin. She might know something about all this. Here's my bazaar access security pass," Ashelin explained, tossing the pass towards Jak. She already knew Jessie didn't need one, since, as an Unfilled, her pass got her everywhere but KG operations, the Palace, and a few of the more sensitive areas, like the Fortress. The Baron knew the Unfilled would never betray this trust, since it was basically all they had left in the city, so he allowed it for all Unfilled, even those suspected of being in the Underground. Of course, those people were few and far between, even among the Unfilled, so it was really a very small minority he was concerned about. The Unfilled were generally not big on combat.

"Your name's Ashelin, huh?" Jak asked, glancing at the image of the woman in the pass's screen and the name below it. She turned away and shifted gear.

"We're even now."

With that, she flew off, leaving the three of them in the dust that blew up in her wake.

"Wow! What a woman!" Daxter exclaimed, just before letting out a very weird growl that made Jessie silently swear never to let him get a hold of pictures of her. That would simply end badly for the poor rodent.

"Come on, you two. If Ashelin's right, then this probably has more than just Mar involved. This might involve Gemini as well. We need to tell Torn about this," she said gruffly, just before shouldering her rifle again and walking away. This little scene worried her. She didn't know much about Mar and his family, only that they had once ruled the city, the most recent ruler's queen had been a Light Unfilled and a good friend of her father, and that Mar had been on very good terms with the first Unfilled: Gemini and their followers. Supposedly, there was some sort of special rock that his tomb protected, but she hadn't paid much attention to those legends. Jessie had been more interested in the Unfilled stories, not the other legends of Haven City. Was she biased? Probably. Did she care? Not a whit.

"We're coming, we're coming. Just one question. Who's Gemini?" Jak asked in his usual brusque manner. As they walked back to the city gate, she filled him in on the twins known collectively as Gemini.

They had been the first Unfilled, showing up at around the same time as Mar, and had helped with the construction of Haven City and the main temple of the Unfilled nearby. The female half had been the first Lodestar Vessel and had trained all the next Vessels in the art of communicating and linking with an Ecolian, while the male half had been one of the first seers and had given the Unfilled a prophecy shortly before their and Mar's disappearances. While she didn't tell them much about the prophecy, she did explain that, despite their wishes, it included her and her brother.

"Wait, so you and Jamie have some sort of prophecy about you two? That's not fair! I want a prophecy about me!" Daxter whined, but it was mostly in jest. Jessie rolled her eyes and stopped a few yards away from the gate.

"It's not fun, okay? We've basically had our destinies planned out for us years before we were even born! Besides, it's not just us. There's one other person involved, but we have no idea who he, or she, is. One more poor fool chosen by the Precursors and Ecolians to have some crazy fate," she replied bitterly. That shut him up for a bit, and they walked into the airlock of the gate in silence. The door behind them hissed shut with the clanking of the gear, and the door ahead had its lock slide down slowly and turn to let them in.

"Welcome back," the city said coolly.

'I wish,' Jessie thought ruefully, walking back into the city with them and getting back on the Black Orchid. They had a long day ahead of them, if this morning were any indication.

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Yay! Review!**

 **rosewhip889 (chapter 8, May 2) – Yeah, that one is definitely hard, especially when you have to fight off a whole bunch of them while the Kid keeps wandering off. I've actually beaten the game a few times, which was about as fun as you can imagine, and I'm only fifteen Precursor Orbs away from unlocking Hero Mode! I just have to beat a few of the gun courses and the races (in both directions, forward and reverse).**

 **As usual, feedback is both welcome and appreciated! If you think something is wrong with my story, go ahead and tell me! It's good to have an outsider's opinion, instead of just my own.**

 **Wild Cat 214, out!**


	10. Chapter 9: Scrambled Eggs

**Author's Notes: I'm proud to say that Blue Eyes: Unfilled Lives has almost as many views as the original! It's also gotten farther in the storyline. And in reviews. And favorites. And follows. And pretty much everywhere else that counts. Am I bragging? Maybe a little. I'm just proud that my rewrite is considered so good by my readers!**

 **Anyways, sibling stuff in this chapter, plus a little mention as to what Jamie can do, and, of course, Daxter being Daxter. Personally, I didn't really like this mission in the game, since you can't get out to kill the Wasps when they rise up and shoot at you. I also didn't like the other mission where you have to shoot down the KG tanker here, but that's a whole other can o' worms.**

 **Really, I just didn't like the turret missions in this game. I preferred the more old-school stuff, like exploring the Mountain Temple or the Tomb of Mar.**

 **Funny story (to me, anyways): My brother and I played the Jak and Daxter games out of order. We had Precursor Legacy first, and a friend of ours wouldn't give us the third game until we beat it (eventually, I managed to find all 101 power cells and win the game). Then we beat Jak 3 on both normal and hero modes, and THEN we played Jak II and beat it. Although, we** _ **did**_ **get stuck on the final boss fight, and since our TV was sucky (we couldn't alter the brightness, since it was really old), I actually had to do one of the Fortress missions at another house, with my own copy of the game and my own memory card. And then we played Jak X, and though we haven't beaten it yet, we're getting there. Slowly, yet surely... race by race... Cup by Cup... awesome explosion by awesome explosion...**

 **Okay, I'm done. Read on, noble and treasured viewers!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Jak and Daxter. They're the property of Naughty Dog and whoever else owns them.**

* * *

" _It is a well-known fact among the Unfilled that Gemini, the founder of their order and the first Lodestar Vessel and Lodestar Eyes, was a set of twins. To this day, twins, whether identical or fraternal, have always been treated as an honor by any Unfilled parents, and sometimes as controversial matters when they have 'gifts'. The Sagai twins, in particular, have raised much debate over their powers and their connection to the Lodestar Prophecy set down by Gemini's male half so long ago. Jessamine Sagai is already known as the Lodestar Vessel, and her brother, James, is believed to be the Lodestar Eyes, gifted with the power of prophecy and the ability to see into the future. Now all that remains is the identity of the Lodestar Sentinel." -Doctor Michelle Erwin, leading expert on the Unfilled at the Haven City Resource Center, which is, coincidentally, within the lower levels of the Palace_

* * *

It was around the time they were leaving the Hideout – after giving Torn Ashelin's message, of course – that Jessie got a message from Jamie. She skimmed over it quickly, looking back up at her partners when she had read it a few times.

"Vin wants to see you two, and Jamie wants to talk with me. You two okay with heading to the Power Station before we visit the Bazaar?" she asked casually, leaning back against the side of her precious hover. Jak and Daxter shared a look, then the human of the two shrugged.

"As long as we get food afterwards, I'm okay with it," Daxter replied for them. She grinned and nodded.

"Then get in. Let's make it a quickie. I'm hungry, too." The backseat became visible and Jessie climbed into the driver's seat, waiting until Jak was ready to shoot off through the slums toward the Industrial Section. As they went, Jessie occasionally let her eyes roam the slate gray and red environment, catching a short glimpse of a billboard that said "Onin knows" on it as they passed pedestrians, KG, and other hovers. Finally, they pulled up beside the ramp closest to Vin's place of operations, and as Jak got off, Daxter slowly swayed on his shoulder.

"Jeez, Jessie, you drive like Jak. Is it really necessary to switch between zones so much?" he quipped dizzily. The young woman smirked at him.

"Since I used to be a street racer and an official racer, yes. Now come on. I want to give Jamie these juice rods, and Vin wants to talk to you guys," Jessie replied, shouldering the pack of Metal Head weapons and beginning the climb up the smooth gray ramp, only half-listening to them follow her to the Power Station.

 _Earlier that day..._

Jamie typed a few equations into the computer and waited, scanning the data that appeared. It seemed that the Eco flow from one of the platforms outside the city had decreased.

"Vin? You might want to take a look at this," he called to his coworker, leaning back and glancing at the older man.

Some considered Vin a little crazy. Not Jamie. He understood that, compared to most of the city, Vin was a genius. He was one of the few people in the world who understood Mar's work, and the one the Unfilled trusted enough to allow him to speak for them. He was also Jamie's role model and mentor, at least in the ways of technology and Eco. Jamie trusted Vin with his life.

"Uh oh. That's not good. That is really, _really_ not good. Jamie! The Drill Platform is—" the technician began panicking, and the Sagai boy stood up and put his hands on the man's shoulders.

"Vin! Relax! I'll call Jessie and Jak, and they'll take care of it. Remember Jak and Daxter, the two who rescued you from the Strip Mine? They can handle something like this," Jamie said soothingly, patting Vin's shoulders gently. Slowly, he stopped freaking out and nodded, stepping back towards his half of the Power Station. When he was sure Vin had calmed down, the teenage boy pulled out his communicator and began messaging his sister.

* * *

Jessie was the first to arrive, but Jak and Daxter came right on her heels, so Jamie knew everything was going to be fine. Vin heard their steps and turned.

"Hey, Jessie," he greeted her, then focused on her partners. "Hey, I want to thank you guys for saving my butt out there at the Strip Mine."

"And we'd like to thank you... for being such a bad shot!" Daxter quipped. She smirked with her brother as they watched the scene unfold between Jak, Daxter, and Vin.

"Ah, yeah, sorry about that, guys. Ah, I'm a bit jumpy these days," he replied, blissfully ignorant of the grins on the faces of the other people.

"Jumpy? We hadn't noticed," the ottsel said dryly, then his eyes widened as he looked at the space behind the older man. "Ahhhh! A Metal Head behind you!" Vin screamed, jumped ten feet in the air, and twisted to put his back against one of the consoles, hyperventilating and stammering out questions. "Whatha?!... Whotha?!... Wha!...Whoooo... Ohh...!"

"Just kidding... _Nice_ reaction time, though." Daxter walked past him, towards the warp gate that, depending on the coordinates entered, would lead to several places. Jak was smirking, and though Jessie and Jamie both shook their heads in exasperation, they still had lopsided grins on their faces.

" _Not_ funny!" Vin yelled, and when he looked at Jak, the young man began whistling innocently. The tech turned away to his half of the consoles and Jessie mouthed "Smooth" at her partner, making him roll his eyes. Jamie waved a hand at them. "Hey, stop picking on Vin. I'm the one that has to calm him down, you know."

"Those Metal Heads have been attacking our mining operations and we're running out of Eco! Eco power keeps the city shield walls up, and if the shield drops... well, we can all kiss our butts goodbye!" Vin added a rather blatant gesture with his behind as he said that, seemingly ignorant of what his junior partner had just said.

"I've got a few surprises for those Metal Heads," Jak replied vaguely. Jamie noticed Jessie narrowing her eyes, her smile fading, and wondered what she was thinking. It probably had something to do with what Kor had said about him, and what he already knew about the guy. Or it could just be something she hadn't told him yet, something about Jak that she wanted to keep quiet about for now. If that was the case, he wouldn't push. He knew his sister needed space every so often; almost every Unfilled was like that, given that some of them still harbored a few minor Ecolians. Sharing a body with an extremely old, wise being made of living Eco did that to people.

"You've got to keep the shield walls up until the Shadow figures out what to do. Jamie's readings show a drop in Eco flow at the Drill Platform. Probably some Metal Head eggs sucking away power. So, use the warp gate to go to the platform and destroy every Metal Head egg you can find," the technician in charge of the city's Eco explained the mission to his sister's partners. When he was done, the two looked at Jessie. Her eyes widened.

"What? You guys want me to come with? I think not. This ain't a, uh, Shadow-appointed mission, so I'll leave you to it. Besides, I want to talk to Jamie. I'll see you guys later. Don't die out there. I don't want to have to put up with Torn because you two got killed by Metal Heads," she said cheekily, waving them towards the warp gate.

"Uh-huh. And when we get back, we're going for food," Jak replied firmly. Jessie nodded.

"Bazaar stuff. On me."

The promise of food later seemed to be the extra push the two boys needed, since Jak went flying through the portal, jumping through and doing the splits at the same time. Jamie and Jessie turned to look at each other, two similar looks of sibling bemusement on their faces.

"Is he always like that?"

"As far as I know, yes. I think it's a habit, ya know, being all gymnastic as he jumps. He was the same on the last two missions we went on."

"Ah."

"Yeah..."

* * *

Jessie glanced at the monitors, briefly wondering who Morgan was and why she would be missed. When the only sounds were Vin obliviously typing away at his consoles and examining screens while making little sounds in the back of his throat, she looked at her brother and saw him watching her.

"What?"

He blinked, then looked at the floor.

"It's just... it's been a while since I've seen you... joke with guys," Jamie replied quietly. She joined him in examining the floor, her mouth a thin line.

"I... joke with guys. I do it all the time," she protested faintly. He scoffed, keeping his voice low so Vin didn't get involved. (Chances were, he would only make it worse between the two, and besides, he was pretty involved in his work. He might not notice an Eco bomb going off right behind him... Then again, he might. Vin was more perceptive than most people thought, even if he _was_ lacking in the social skills department.)

"Guys other than family. Uncle Jinx and I don't count," he countered. Her face flushed and she sighed.

"Okay, fine. You win. Jak... I don't know why, but a part of me _knows_ him, somehow, like he's familiar. And, Jamie, he was... exposed to Dark Eco," Jessie explained in a hushed tone. And while Jamie could tell that wasn't the whole truth, it was enough, for now. He knew that Dark Eco was a sensitive subject for her, for both of them. After all, it was a strange surge in the Dark Eco powering the shield walls that had resulted in their parents' deaths, and their mother had been the Dark Vessel. They had ties to it, even if they didn't like it one bit.

"I see. He hasn't hurt you or anything, right? Because if he has, he'll have to face the wrath of James Oscar Sagai," Jamie said, using his pompous voice when he used his name. Jessie giggled.

"No, Jamie, Jak hasn't done anything to me. Oh, speaking of getting hurt," she said, slinging the bag full of juice rods off her shoulder and holding it out to him. When he peered inside, the young man let out a squeal of delight.

"Jessie, you shouldn't have!"

"Aw, I was just fighting some Juice Goons and remembered, hey, you wanted some to experiment with! It was nothing."

"No, really, you shouldn't have. I could have asked another member of the Underground to get me some."

"...This is one of those times when you try to pull the big-brother act even though I'm the older one, isn't it?"

"Yup."

"I knew it. Tough luck, Jamie. As long as Praxis oppresses our people, I'm gonna be fighting. I don't care how long it takes. If he's still in power when I turn eighteen..." Jamie held up a finger, cutting off the beginning of her furious rant, and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Jessie, when you're eighteen, Praxis will run straight to the Metal Head Nest instead of facing you. He knows better than to mess with us. Especially since we're..." he trailed off, reminding her of the brief conversation she had held with Daxter this morning. Jessie sighed and leaned back against the console.

"The Lodestar Vessel and Eyes, I know, I know. Any visions lately?" she asked worriedly. He shook his head, a relieved smile on his face.

"Nothing so far. Not since the big one that kept all those agents from being captured when the KG stormed their safe house," her brother replied. She smiled at him and wrapped an arm around his shoulder.

"Good. I don't want the Baron taking you in because someone saw you collapse during a vision and called the hospital. It's better if he doesn't have the power of Saffron and the Yellow Ecolians."

"Indeed."

"You sound like an old man when you say that."

"Indeed."

"Okay, I'm gonna stop talking to you. Hey, Vin! Is the warp gate still connected to the Drill Platform?" Jessie called out to the tech working across the room. He looked back at them, thought about it, and nodded.

"Probably. Jak and Daxter will need to get back, so yeah, I left the connection open."

"Perfect. I will see you for dinner," she said, bowing slightly as she flung her arms to the left. Before Jamie could stop her, she thrust the bag of juice rods into his hands and took a running leap through the gate.

* * *

The Drill Platform was the same as always, except for the Ginsu bodies slowly dissolving into Dark Eco. There were no skull gems glowing on the metal, so Jessie assumed Jak had already collected them. Now, she just needed to find him. That was why she pulled out her rifle and ran off along the path leading through the Platform.

The trek was easier, all things considered. There were a few harrowing moments where she nearly lost her grip and plummeted, but Jessie managed to work her way past all the obstacles to the third gun turret, where Jak was having a hard time fighting off the Wasps and shooting the eggs at the same time. She blasted two of them quickly, drawing Daxter attention and lifting some of the pressure on Jak so he could take care of the other three.

"Jessie! I thought you weren't coming," the ottsel said, surprise tinting his voice, and she chuckled when she climbed up onto the red frame and sat above them.

"Yeah, well, I decided you guys could use the backup. I'll hold off the Wasps, Jak, and you handle the eggs. Got it?" Jessie replied, already killing two more that rose up from beneath the platform they were currently on.

"Got it. Hang on tight!" Jak replied, turning the turret quickly and holding down the trigger. Eco blasts flew from the twin barrels and collided with Metal Head eggs in a particularly slimy way. Gunk flew everywhere in the explosions, though none of it ever reached them. When the last egg was gone and the last Wasp had gone down in flames, Jessie hopped down and rejoined Jak and Daxter.

"That was fun. Let's _not_ do it again," she said cheerily. Daxter nodded fervently.

"I agree with Jessie. Let's not decide to scramble some eggs ever again. Not unless they're for breakfast... and aren't Metal Head eggs," he concurred. Jak snorted softly, and his communicator flew out of his pack.

"Y _ou destroyed the last of the Metal Head eggs! That should give us a little more Eco for the city. Good work! Oh, and, uh, Jessie, Jamie says he wants pasta with meatballs for dinner,_ " Vin's voice crackled with static, probably because they were pretty far from the city, and Jessie rolled her eyes.

"Since he's saying that, I'm gonna assume Jamie's gone off to work with the boss. Anyways. I promised you food, and food you shall have. Come," she commanded regally, making Jak roll his eyes as she began walking past him towards another warp gate.

"Yes, Princess Jessie," he replied, bowing low. Daxter snickered when Jessie patted him on the head twice, two short taps with a very serious face. Her poker face crumbled at the dirty look he gave her, and she scurried away before he could do anything else to her. She dove through the warp gate, and he followed close behind with Daxter holding on tight.

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Reviews! Huzzah!**

 **rosewhip889 (chapter 9, Jun. 10) – That's funny. Me and my little brother both play the Jak and Daxter games, and while we don't steal the controllers from each other (generally, if there's a hard part, he asks me to do it), we can get a little competitive, especially when we play Jak X. Personally, I think Naughty Dog shouldn't have used Ashelin as a potential romantic candidate for Jak, simply because I prefer her and Torn together. He obviously cares about her, if he's even warning Jak off of her and he's willing to throw away everything to protect her. And thanks! I liked it, too.**

 **guest (chapter 9, Jun. 11) – Oh, yes, Jessie is right about the long day. Even when she's wrong, she's right (I couldn't resist putting that little quote in there XD). I wouldn't say it's sick entertainment, per se, but I do feel the Precursors could have gone about with this whole thing in an entirely different way. Having to protect your image in the world is one thing, but actually wanting someone to undergo torture and experiments so they can be that hero you need is way too much. Why couldn't they have just asked? Or used the Oracle in the Water Slums to give him his Dark Jak powers in the first place? Okay, I'm beginning to rant, and that means I need to stop talking. Anyways, thanks for your comments :D**

 **UltimateGamer101 (chapter 9, Jul. 2) – Thanks! I try to go for reasonably original content, and I'm glad you're so happy I used Hora-quan for the Metal Heads, since it actually ties into what I have planned for my other story,** _ **Tooth and Claw**_ **. But I can't tell you anything else. You'll have to wait for** _ **Cold Blood**_ **. MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!**

 **Wild Cat 214, out! *falls through warp gate***


	11. Chapter 10: World's Oldest Pain

**Author's Notes: And now for the moment you all have been waiting for... (drum roll, please)**

 **Jessie, Jak, and Daxter get to eat! *trumpet fanfare, confetti, and cheers from that crowd you can't see***

 **Also, they're gonna see Pecker and Onin, easily some of the more entertaining characters in this series (at least, in my opinion XD). I think Onin is one of my favorites out of all the games, simply because she's still so sassy, even though she's flipping old! She's right up there with Sig, the Blue Sage, Torn, and Erol, not in any particular order.**

 **Thinking about it now, there aren't that many major female characters in the main story arc of the Jak and Daxter games (including Jak X and Daxter). There's just Keira, the Bird Lady, Maia, the Geologist, Ashelin, Tess, Onin, Rayn, Taryn, the muse, and Seem (who I consider a girl, because of the voice actor and the shape of her face and head), as well as any I might have missed. That's about 11 major female characters compared to... *calculating* …39 or so major male characters! That's excluding the city computer, repeated characters (aka Jak in his various incarnations, the younger Samos, and Cyber-Errol, who by all rights** _ **should**_ **be his own character), AND all the background characters in Spargus and Haven City!**

 **What the heck, Naughty Dog? That's a pretty large female:male ratio!**

 **I demand approximate, numerical gender equality in my video games!**

 **Disclaimer: Y'all know what's mine and what's not.**

* * *

" _It's hard to say whether I like Pecker or hate him. At times, he can be helpful, but other times, I just wanna wring his little neck." -Jessie Sagai, while talking to Luna Zyan over food_

* * *

Jessie drove along the winding path leading to the section of the Bazaar where Onin and Pecker were, then parked it near pylons similar to the ones at the Stadium.

"Why are we stopping? Can't we just take that road?" Jak asked, pointing at the ramp leading to a special road over the bazaar. She shook her head, switched on the parking brake, and got off.

"Nope. The Bazaar is actually split into two sections by the Palace. One part is okay for hovers, and the other isn't. We have to use the latter if we want to see Onin," the young woman replied, motioning for them to follow her past the lit-up poles.

Soon, they were standing near a stall that declared itself the only purveyor of genuine Kras City cuisine in the entire city. Jak was chewing on what the proprietor had called an egg, sausage, and potato breakfast burrito, Daxter munched down on something called French toast with maple syrup (though no one knew what French was), and Jessie inhaled a couple of egg, cheese, and sausage breakfast burritos that had gallons of hot sauce added. (Okay, not literal gallons, but you get the idea.)

Once they were done, Daxter and Jak grinned at her as they began walking through the rest of this part of the Bazaar.

"Wow, Jessie! That was really good!" Daxter exclaimed, licking the sticky remains of his late breakfast from his paws. She smirked back at them.

"I've lived here all my life. Trust me, I know my way around the city's food vendors. Plus, the lady that runs that stall is Unfilled. All of the stuff she makes is really good for you. Well, except for her chocolate ice cream bombes, but they're really tasty, so that makes up for the lack of nutritional value!" Jessie replied brightly, waving at some of the other vendors as they went. She spaced out a little, drooling slightly at the thought of the dessert.

"Watch out, Jessie. We don't want to flood the Bazaar," Jak snarked, nudging her shoulder with his hand. She shook her head and shot him a glare.

"Oh, shut up. You were thinking about them, too. I can tell," the young woman countered. The trio laughed, walking deeper into the section until they came across a dead end. That was when Jessie stopped her chuckling, the smile fading from her face. Taking up most of the space was a tent with plenty of pots and small crates around it, and a skull painted on it.

"We're here," she said tonelessly, staring at the tent like it might bite. Jak and Daxter exchanged a bemused look, but followed her inside to see a very old woman with a funny hat on her head sitting cross-legged at the far end, apparently sleeping.

"Coooool! Check out all the dead stuff!" Daxter said excitedly, poking the belly of a familiar red, blue, and yellow animal hanging by its tail from a support pole near the entrance. It bit his finger (toe?) and he yelped in pain.

"Touch the goods again, rat boy, and you'll be, arrrk, counting with your toes!" the moncaw said, pointing a feather at the ottsel in warning. He dropped and flew over to the woman's hat.

"I am Pecker!" he declared, throwing his wings wide in a dramatic display. Jak hid a smile behind one hand, and Daxter didn't even bother. This didn't faze the moncaw, who went into a brief mode of disturbed reminiscence. "Yes, yes, I know, my mother, she was... very vindictive."

Pecker recovered quickly. "I am Onin's interpreter." The old woman sitting on the ground, Onin, had woken up and was now signing with her hands in a manner few understood. "Onin welcomes you, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah... the usual boring salutations. She says it is good to see you again, Jak, Jessie."

"But we've never met before," Jak replied bemusedly. He smiled carelessly, replying mysteriously, "Before... after... it is all the same."

"Oh! Oh! Let me try!" Daxter cut in, jumping onto the crate between Onin and Jessie, and she rolled her eyes. So he didn't think Pecker was really interpreting her words? This was going to be entertaining.

"Ahhh... she wants a... she wants a yakow bone! A yakow bladder! No... no... I got it! For many moons... she has... waited for... a juice pop? A jewel shop? Oh... oh... I know, she's got a hairball?! A hare lip? A hairy chest?" he rattled off, paying no attention to the incredulous looks Jak and Jessie were giving him. Where was he coming up with this stuff?

"Close..." Pecker said encouragingly, nodding. "But NO! Onin says you seek answers... arrrkkk, about the Tomb of Mar." Onin's hands waved while he spoke and blue sparkles appeared in the air, shimmering lines that formed the shape of the Seal of Mar.

"So what do we need to know?" Jak asked bluntly, getting right to the heart of the matter. Pecker watched her hands and got impatient fast.

"She's going on and on about mystical energy channels, evil curses, stupid 'ooooooo' crap. Forget all that. I'm going to sum this up quickly, because now you're cutting into my siesta time," the moncaw decided, pointing an accusing feather at the three of them.

"Onin wants you to recover three artifacts from the Precursor Mountain Temple. Not two! Not four! THREE!" Onin's fingers held up those specific numbers, with her nodding when she held up three. "Use the warp gate at the northwest side of the city, and bring back the three items you find!"

Pecker closed his eyes and wrapped his wings around himself, with Onin slowly dipping her head in gentle slumber beneath him. When they showed no signs of leaving, he opened one eye and waved a wing dismissively at them. Daxter was about to say something, but Jessie put a finger over his mouth and inclined her head towards the exit, silently telling them to leave.

The young woman was about to join them outside when a swirl of blue sparkles rose up around her. She turned back to see Onin had arisen and woken Pecker up again, the moncaw shooting her a dirty look.

Her hands began moving in an intricate pattern, and Pecker sighed. "Fine, fine, I'll tell her." He cleared his throat.

"Jessie, Onin would like to tell you a few things. She says it is not her fault your, arrrk, destiny was thrust upon you at so young an age, but she would appreciate it if you didn't constantly run away from it," the moncaw interpreted. She scowled angrily and clenched her fists.

"I don't blame her. I just wish the Precursors and the Ecolians had chosen someone else besides me and Jamie," she replied bitterly. Onin nodded briefly.

"Regardless, Onin wants you to accept who you are. Your people need you, Jessie. The, arrrkkk, Eco-quan need you, too. Perhaps you should consider that before you start choosing anything."

This time, when Onin lowered her head and Pecker tucked his wings in, Jessie left swiftly. Jak and Daxter were waiting for her at the entrance to this plaza in the Bazaar, staring at her quizzically.

"What happened? You seem pretty wound up, Jessie," her human partner asked, the barest hint of concern in his voice. She sighed and gave him a tight-lipped smile.

"Nothing big. Just hearing something I already knew," she replied wearily, looking at the sky. There were few clouds in the sky, making it perfect for exploring an ancient, metallic temple. Or learning more about what exactly they were supposed to find.

"Okay, Jak, Daxter, before we go off to explore the Mountain Temple, let's check up on something," Jessie said firmly, walking back towards the Black Orchid at a swift march. Jak jogged up and caught up to her, walking beside the young woman as they left the Bazaar.

"Where are we going?" he asked curiously. She grinned at him.

"The library."

* * *

Jak groaned and let his head fall to the table. When he had heard they were visiting the library, he wasn't sure whether to be irritated or bored. Now it was clear. He was both.

"Jessie, have you found it yet?" he complained, briefly noting that Daxter was now at another table with a couple of cute girls, probably regaling them with a story that was mostly exaggerated and completely untrue.

"Aha!" her voice echoed towards them from somewhere else, and she came hurrying out with a large blue volume. He sat up just in time to avoid getting the thick book deposited on his head, and watched in annoyed confusion as Jessie flipped through the pages until she came to a certain part. On it was a depiction of a small gear with three large points and three small points, a crystal set in some sort of holder with lines around the pointy spires, and a round lens of some sort.

"What's that?" he asked, his irritation fading away. Jessie grinned at him and pointed at the images. "They're what Onin wants us to get. There's three of them, they're in the Mountain Temple, and they're connected to Mar. It was Gemini who placed them there, actually, just before they all went missing. I don't know what they're for, and the book doesn't actually have much on them besides that they're pieces to something and they were made by Mar and Gemini for some secret purpose."

"Okay. So... can we go now? I'm not really into libraries," he commented drily, seeing Daxter was still talking to the girls. Lucky him.

Jessie rolled her eyes and closed the book with a soft thump, picking it back up and holding it with one arm.

"Okay. Just help me put this back. It was hard enough getting it down by myself. I don't want to deal with bringing it back up to its shelf," she replied, motioning for him to follow her with her head. Jak let out a heavy sigh and pushed his chair back, standing up and glancing around. This library kinda reminded him of Samos' hut back in Sandover Village, with its musty books and the greenery.

Thinking about Samos just brought up painful memories, so he stopped and focused on what was going on right now. Jessie was leading him into the space between two tall bookshelves, and he could see a ladder on wheels placed near the far end.

When they got to it, she handed him the book and climbed up the ladder, stopping on a rung about seven feet off the ground, and reached down. He held the book up to her and waited until it was firmly in her grasp to let go, and she slid it into the space between two books that matched it in color and thickness.

"There we go! _Now_ we can leave," Jessie allowed, stepping down and joining him on the ground. She moved to pass him, but her arm brushed against his and both froze, each seeing the tiny purple spark that flared up at the touch.

On Jak's part, his dark side rose up ferociously at the contact, and he had to fight to keep it down. That had never happened before. Even when he accidentally brushed up against other people as he moved through the crowds of Haven City, the Dark Eco had stayed down, only threatening to take over when he got angry.

Jessie pulled away with a jerk, her eyes going wide with shock. Something in her eyes told him she had experienced something similar, and that, more than anything, worried him.

* * *

The brief moment of her arm touching Jak had been too much for Jessie. The weird feeling had swelled up and tried to take over her body and mind, and it had taken all her self-control to pull away before she did something she would certainly regret.

What was going on? This wasn't good. This was anything but good. This whole thing was all kinds of bad. She could not afford these kinds of feelings undermining her role as Jak's superior officer in the Underground. Jessie looked up at him uncertainly, noticing his eyes were as wide with shock as hers, and took brief comfort in the fact that whatever had happened wasn't just her.

That comfort dissolved into worry when she delved further into that realization. There was something going on between her and Jak, and it wasn't natural. Whatever that feeling was, it had something to do with the fact he had been experimented on with Dark Eco, and she had a sneaking suspicion there was more to it than just that. Her reactions to Eco were special, but that wasn't the usual one. It was more like...

Like what she had seen her mother experience when she sat on the Passionate Throne and channeled Umbra.

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Yay, reviews! And so fast, too!**

 **UltimateGamer101 (chapter 10, Jul. 3) – Heh. With us in charge, the world would probably fall apart. Ashelin x Torn is one of my ships, too, along with a few other canon pairings, but I'm not super fond of Jak x Keira. I don't hate it, it's just that Keira gets pretty judgmental in II, and that damaged the ship for me. Also, I have a question for you. Is Kor x Maia a real ship? I need to know! *shakes laptop since I can't shake you***

 **Also, I just now realized, but my Ecolians are kinda like the Drej from Titan A.E. They're both made of pure energy. Of course, there is the matter of the Drej being definitely not good, but the Ecolians are more neutral than anything else. They don't want humanity destroyed. They need them, after all.**

 **Guest (chapter 10, Jul. 3) – Yeah, they're pretty hilarious :)**

 **Wild Cat 214, out!**


	12. Chapter 11: A Mountain of Fun

**What's that up in the sky?**

 **It's a bird!**

 **It's a plane!**

 **No, it's...**

 **WILD CAT 214!**

 **Author's Notes: Hello. It's me. I was wondering if, after all these months, you'd like to read.**

 **Another chapter, that is :P**

 **Sorry I haven't updated in so long. As any of you who have seen my profile page have learned, I've been having difficulties with the external hard drive I had this originally on. Fortunately, the Live Preview feature helped me get back, if not the notes I had, at least the content I've published so far.**

 **I've also gone back and corrected a few mistakes, mainly spelling errors or cases where I missed a space (like I almost did there XD), and made some slight changes. Nothing big, just for continuity or to have the timeline make more sense.**

 **This year has been so crazy, what with the election and all the awful stuff going on in the world. I'm just glad it's almost over. Now, how about you escape the awful things going on in our world and take a peek at the things going on in Jak's world?**

 **Disclaimer: As always, I do not own Jak and Daxter. All credit to them goes to Naughty Dog. The only credit I get is for my OC's and whatnot.**

* * *

 _"_ _The Mountain Temple of Haven City is a paradise for those seeking to learn more about the Precursors, typically because of the artifacts that abound. Of course, the three that Gemini supposedly placed there are of the greatest fascination, though the Unfilled forbid anyone taking them without permission. And that permission can only be obtained from their Vessels." -Tourist pamphlet for Haven City_

* * *

Jessie left the library without a word, not even waiting for Jak to collect Daxter from his adoring crowd. When the two boys finally got outside, they found her in her zoomer, a thoughtful frown on her face. She looked up at them and quickly glanced away from Jak, which only served to make things more awkward. Once the blond was seated, the young woman took off, weaving through traffic to the gardens, where they would access the Mountain Temple.

Daxter, of course, noticed the tense silence between the two, and decided to do something about it.

"Wow, just look at this weather! It's a shame you two aren't enjoying it." When neither answered, the ottsel let out an exasperated sigh.

"Jeez, what's the matter with you two? You haven't had a relapse, have ya, Jak? You have, haven't ya? Guess I'll have to be your voice again, just like old times." Jessie pulled up beside the ramp leading to the security gate, and once she had dismounted, she gave the ottsel a curious look.

"What do you mean, 'just like old times'?" the young woman asked. Jak scowled and got off.

"He's talking about what I used to be like," he answered curtly. When it didn't look like he was going to elaborate, Jessie turned from him to the ottsel, raising an eyebrow questioningly. Daxter shrugged his tiny shoulders.

"Jak used to be a mute, up until a short while ago. I did the talking then," he explained while they ascended the ramp.

"And you talked enough for both of us."

"Hey!"

The two humans laughed a little, reaching the gate in short time. It admitted them readily, closing in typical airlock fashion as they waited for the other door to open. The city computer gave them a disclaimer when the second gate unsealed ("Leaving city at your own risk"), and the three left the relative safety of Haven City.

* * *

Jessie looked around No Man's Canyon with a stern gaze, assessing her surroundings quickly. She slung the rifle off her shoulder quickly, just in case some Metal Heads decided to attack, only relaxing a little when nothing occurred. The monsters usually didn't wait this long to attack, a trait that she was thankful for.

The young woman led the way to the warp gate across the canyon, turning to give them a smirk. Something like familiarity was on Jak's face as he looked at the gate, and it puzzled her, just like all the information she received about him. He clearly recognized technology like this, but from the way he acted sometimes, he definitely wasn't a native of Haven City. It was like he still couldn't quite grasp how there could be so many people in one place.

"After you, dark boy," she offered. Jak scowled and crossed his arms before his chest.

"Ladies first," he retorted bluntly. Jessie shrugged and jumped through, rolling for a short distance before getting back on her feet. She didn't bother waiting for the other two to get through; too many things were going through her head to want more complications. And right now, that's what Jak was. A complication. That moment in the library was proof of that.

"Let's get this over with," Jessie sighed, heading towards the right, where a Precursor platform floated upside-down. She raised the muzzle of her rifle and fired a single bullet, hitting the tip of the conical structure and making it flip over. The young woman took a running leap and landed on it shakily, then quickly jumped again to the Precursor structure on the other side, just before it wobbled and flipped back to its original position.

That was right about the time her partners came into view. She waved cheekily at the two boys. Jak was scowling again, and Daxter was simply looking around with curious interest.

"If you aren't careful, your face will freeze like that," she called over the gap. The ottsel snickered and gestured to the Precursor device between them.

"Just shoot the platform, Jak," Daxter commented helpfully. His ride's scowl deepened as he pulled his Morph Gun out, changing it to the Blaster mod and shooting the platform. Once Jak joined Jessie on the other side, they stepped onto a circle of darker metal than the rest of the Precursor structure and rode it to the bottom, where they spotted two Manic Heads roaming the enclosed path connecting them to another temple.

"You take the one on the left, I get the one on the right?" she suggested. Jak nodded and raised his gun; Jessie followed suit quickly, and together they took out the Metal Heads before you could say "Hip Hog Heaven." Jessie took point, ignoring the strange door to their right.

She was suddenly pushed forward, falling to the ground and barely stopping her face from becoming acquainted with the grass. She pushed herself to her feet and turned around, but before she could yell at him, three purple blasts flew through where she had once stood, coming from the opening to her left. The young woman looked at him in surprise, and he shrugged from the spot he had taken up on the opposite side of the tunnel.

"You didn't seem to notice that Metal Head over there," he explained. Jessie peeked into the tunnel and scowled. A bipedal Metal Head with a bright purple shield stood at the far end, waiting for one of them to come into full view again.

"Okay, so, there's a Centurion that way. Let's leave that for last," she proposed. The two boys nodded in agreement. Jak rushed past the opening, giving the Centurion no chance to shoot him, and they continued onward to the temple, briefly stooping to gather the two skull gems from earlier.

Three Hoppers were lurking within the orange metal building, but a few good kicks and they were reduced to globs of Dark Eco and skull gems. Jessie didn't even bat an eye at Jak collecting the Eco; she was getting used to it by now. That probably should have worried her more than it did, but then again, she also had a few weird traits that would probably earn some strange looks on the street. Well, from anyone other than an Unfilled.

After debating the two available paths, Jessie headed for the upside-down platform floating up and down across from them. Jak raised an eyebrow at her choice, but followed her anyways.

"Okay, we're gonna have to go one at a time for this part," she decided, leaning over the edge to examine the three platforms—all moving vertically, all upside-down and requiring a shot to right them. "Jak, you go first."

"Why me?" he retorted indignantly. The young woman grinned.

"Because you can catch me if things get dicey. I am not nearly strong enough to lift you."

"...Fair enough," Jak conceded. Daxter held up a hand/paw in protest.

"What about me? What if I fall?" he asked. Jessie shrugged.

"Don't fall," she replied bluntly. The ottsel scowled, which earned a smirk from the both of them, and held on tight as Jak got ready for what would prove to be a harrowing descent.

Fortunately, it passed without incident, and soon the three were standing at the bottom of a wide pit.

Unfortunately, its walls were too high and too smooth for them to climb out. The only clue as to how to continue on was in a platter-sized Precursor device in the ground, circular and reminiscent of a button... except that it was covered up. Thin cracks could be seen on its surface, proving it could be opened, but there was nothing that would obviously do so.

"Well, this just got harder. Any ideas?" Jak asked. Jessie shook her head.

"You want someone that can turn your average zoomer into a track-worthy racer, I'm your girl. You want someone that knows Precursor tech, ask Jamie. He's better with this stuff than I am," she replied, kneeling beside it. "I'll give it a try, but I can't promise any results."

Several minutes went by, with Jak keeping an eye out for Metal Heads at the top of the pit walls and Daxter sitting on the ground beside Jessie. She herself was fiddling with the device, trying to pry the case open with the pocket knife in her boot (only used as a last resort, and given to her by Jinx on her fifteenth birthday). When that didn't work, the young woman sat back, leaning on her hands, and frowned. Stupid machine.

A thoughtful look came over her face, and she waved a hand at Jak to grab his attention.

"Hey, Jak. If you used to be a mute, what were your first words?" Jessie asked curiously, still taking a break from puzzling over the Precursor device. He seemed taken aback by her question, and a brief expression of pain flashed across his face. Luckily for him, Jak was spared the trouble of answering it—mainly because Daxter stepped in.

"'I'm gonna kill Praxis!'" the ottsel yelled, imitating Jak's voice. His words echoed around the canyon, and a rumbling began, causing Jessie to rise warily. The three turned to look at the boulders heaped against one side of the pit, and the three took a startled step back when they were flung outward, revealing a cave... and a huge Metal Head that had woken up on the wrong side of the bed.

"Nice going, Daxter," Jessie groaned, taking aim with her rifle. Before the Metal Head could do more than roar grouchily, she fired three quick shots at its eyes, all four of them. Instead of blinding it, however, they merely served to rile it up more.

"Nice going, Jessie," Daxter countered, grinning cheekily as he scrambled back onto Jak's shoulder. She shot him a dirty look that made him cower; when Jak smirked, they both glared at him.

This time, the Metal Head took matters into its own claws and charged at them. They dove apart, Jak recovering from his roll first and readying his Morph Gun. When the monster turned around, he began rapidly shooting, but only when it reared up on its hind legs and the Yellow Eco-infused shots hit its stomach did he deal any sort of damage.

"That's it!" Jessie cried out, the gears in her mind turning. "Jak, shoot it when its belly is exposed! That's the only way we'll take it down!"

He nodded in understanding, running to the side as it charged them again. Jessie raised her communicator and took a picture as it rushed past, running it through the Metal Head database she had downloaded until it finally gave her a match, identifying it as a member of the Ram Head species.

'I'll have to remember to thank Ashelin for this info later,' she noted, firing off several shots in quick succession as the Ram Head reared up again, roaring in pain and anger. Their combined efforts brought it down, and after it had dissolved into Eco and a skull gem, the device that she had been studying earlier opened up to reveal a button.

"Oh, _now_ you decide to cooperate," Jessie grumbled. She stepped on the button... and nothing happened.

"You're too light," Jak remarked, taking her place on the button and doing a dive jump. When he did so, two narrow, rectangular plates of Precursor bronze burst from the wall to the right of the Metal Head's cave.

"Well, _excuse_ me!" she snapped, climbing up the platforms to the top of the pit's wall. Jak and Daxter joined her quickly, and they moved on, mowing down four more Manic Heads and collecting some ammo, Dark Eco, and Green Eco packs. Jessie let Jak handle the packs; it wasn't a good idea for her to do so.

That was when they came across their next obstacle.

"Oh, _hell_ , no!" Jessie shouted in frustration upon seeing the multitude of boulders cascading down the side of the cliff.

 _One grueling climb later..._

"Remind me to never come this way again," Jessie groaned, leaning against the wall of a darker tunnel and rubbing the sore muscles in her legs. Jak nodded wearily, Daxter flopping over his shoulder.

Their bodies bruised and battered by the rockfall, the three pressed on past two more moving, upside-down platforms suspended over a lethal gap, and came across a strange machine. It looked like something she had seen in a movie once, though on a slightly lesser scale (if she remembered correctly, there had been something about a dark crystal and puppets), and it was most likely their first artifact.

"I bet that's the prize!" Daxter commented, jumping off Jak's shoulder and echoing her thoughts. "They won't miss that one tiny gear."

He took hold of it and waited for some sort of reaction. When the machine kept spinning, he grinned.

"Like candy from a baby!" Jessie shook her head in exasperation. He clearly had no idea what taking candy from a baby was really like.

As he walked back with the strange gear, however, the machine came to a sudden, grinding stop. The two humans were horrified to see it fall apart completely, pieces of metal clattering to the top of the Precursor structure and piling up in the middle. Jak put his hands to his head, while Jessie covered her mouth in shock.

"No one will ever know we were here!" Daxter continued, apparently unaware of what he had just caused. Jak opened his mouth to yell at him, but was stopped by a large sphere that rolled unpleasantly close to his position. Jessie blinked, gradually accustoming to the new state of the machine, and sighed.

"Ignorance really is bliss, isn't it?" she remarked. Jak nodded, and watched as she followed after the ottsel and picked him up by his scruff.

"Daxter, I'm pretty sure there's an easier way to get back," she commented.

"And how do you know that?"

"I've read plenty of accounts from people who explore these sort of old areas. There's always a platform or an elevator or something that takes them back to the beginning." She turned around and tossed him and the gear at Jak. The blond caught Daxter easily, grinning at the ottsel's irritation at being treated this way, and placed the gear inside his pack. They walked back towards the ruined machine where, sure enough, a platform had appeared on the other side of the structure. It was a bit small for the three of them, but it wasn't likely that they could go one at a time like before. She and Jak would have to get a bit cozy.

'Whatever happened to avoiding complications?' she grumbled mentally, standing at the edge of the platform. Jak did the same on the other side, and they avoided touching each other for the entire ride. Yet again, that same rebellious part of her urged her to step a bit closer, and again she smothered it. Jessie was personally getting quite sick of it. She liked having some modicum of control over her body, thank you very much, and this wayward feeling would probably be the death of her.

This time, they took the other path from the temple, taking out three more Manic Heads and passing strange, tubular structures that jutted out of the ground and touched the top of more cliff-like walls. They replenished their ammo with a few more convenient boxes and collected another Eco pack, then saw their next obstacle.

"This shouldn't be too bad," Daxter commented, upon seeing the three Hoppers that blocked their way. They climbed up the various ledges, only to freeze when they saw the dozens of Hoppers that lurked around the corner. Jak switched to his Scatter Gun, taking out wide swathes of them while Jessie handled those that slipped through.

"You just _had_ to say that, didn't you?" Jessie complained while they fired at the Metal Heads.

Eventually, they stopped coming, and the two humans gathered up the skull gems that glowed yellow against the grass. Jessie was starting to feel her pack get heavy, and that was saying something. The three continued on, coming across another Centurion.

"Oh, great. One of these. How many of these guys are there, anyway?" she grumbled, waiting for it to lower its shield to shoot at them. When it did so, she ducked out of the way and let Jak take care of it, sighing heavily.

"What's wrong, Jessie? Too much for you?" Jak taunted, collecting the gem. She scowled at began climbing up the next set of ledges.

"Don't lump me in with you and Daxter. I could go all day," Jessie retorted as she ascended, chuckling softly at the ottsel's indignant protest.

After that came another moving platform, this one long and moving from side to side, and held in place by two partitions of decent height. Climbing over them wasn't that bad; it was certainly better than what waited for them up ahead.

A lake of Dark Eco.

Jessie tilted her head to the side, stepping from side to side slightly, as she surveyed the lake and its five ornate boxes of Precursor bronze. On the far end was what looked like their next goal, an island of ledges right next to the temple.

"Ya know, for something so deadly, this stuff is actually really pretty in large quantities," the young woman remarked, admiring the hues of violet and red-violet that danced across its slick surface. The two boys gave her a funny look and went up to the first box, conveniently located right at the edge of their plot of land.

"What's this for?" Daxter asked. Jak examined it thoughtfully, then punched it.

The box moved forward with a resounding, musical tone, leaving behind the side that had been closest to the Dark Eco. Jessie made a wordless, excited noise.

"I get it! It's a puzzle," she explained. "We need to use the boxes to get across the lake to that place over there."

"All right, then. Smack a box, baby," the ottsel commanded, making the two roll their eyes.

 _Several cubes, one sore hand, and a Green Eco pack later..._

Jak and Jessie eyed yet another upside-down platform wearily. They were understandably tired of these things and the ammo they used up, but they were a necessary evil, if they ever wanted to learn more about the Tomb of Mar.

"Remind me why I decided to come with you guys, again," Jessie quipped. Jak shot the platform in reply and jumped on, disembarking at the top of the large platform of Precursor bronze. She caught up quickly, the sinking feeling in her stomach justified when they spotted another Ram Head waiting on the platform. A fence kept them from simply slipping past and getting the artifact.

"Here we go again," Jak muttered, readying his Morph Gun.

Working together, and already having experience with this type of Metal Head, Jessie and Jak took care of it quickly, and as soon as the fence went down and a platform rose up, they went over to the temple. Inside, a Precursor idol with its characteristic goober eyes held out a pedestal bearing the crystal thing from the book—a Shard, wasn't it? To the left and right were empty, circular alcoves, framing the steps leading to the idol and its proffered reward.

Daxter climbed up the steps and onto the pedestal. He tapped it a couple times, gave them a suggestive look, and took hold of the artifact.

"Wooooow. This puppy's got some vibraaaattioonn to it," he observed, the artifact making him bounce across the pedestal's surface.

"This baby will put a smile on your face!" the ottsel declared, rubbing it against his belly. The two below rolled their eyes and waited for him to return. He stuffed it into Jak's pack once he was back on the young man's shoulder, and the three left the temple. Somewhere along the line, Jessie got a few feet ahead of them, and used the distance to quash that damned feeling.

The young woman reached the edge of the platform and looked down, surveying the path she would take. She dropped down to a ledge a couple yards below the circular platform where the Ram Head had attacked, then slid down one of the tubes they had passed earlier. Jak and Daxter caught up quickly, and the three walked back through the first temple to the original pathway.

"And now, we take care of this bastard," she growled, glaring at the Centurion. This time, Jak acted as the bait, and Jessie was the one to take care of it, with no small amount of pleasure.

Three Hoppers appeared at the top of the ledges past the Centurion, and were quickly sniped by the two of them, their skull gems clinking as they hit the ground. The two climbed up and collected them, then jumped across the islands in the middle of a pool fed by a waterfall. The spray helped calm Jessie a little, cooling her off, and by the time they found yet another deep, wide pit in the ground, she was less agitated than before.

"How much you wanna bet that there's another Ram Head down there?" Jessie remarked. Jak snorted and jumped down, and she followed soon after.

Unsurprisingly, once they were all at the bottom, out came their third Ram Head. Upon its defeat, a button popped up, and Jak pressed it. Just one platform popped out this time, to the left of the Ram Head's cave, and they climbed up to find another Centurion waiting across a gap. It was disposed of in no time, but they decided to take a brief break on their side before they collected the gem and continued.

"You know, I'm glad you had us save this part for last, Jessie," Daxter commented after a shot singed his fur. "I really wouldn't have wanted to do this if we had faced these guys first."

Jessie nodded, pressing a health pack to her leg, where one Dark Eco blast had hit and brought her to her knees.

"Me, too. I'm gonna be feeling this tomorrow," she groaned, taking Jak's offered hand and doing her best to ignore both the rebel part of her and the tiny purple spark that flashed between their fingers as he pulled her to her feet. Yup, that was definitely something she had seen when her mom channeled Umbra. She was positive. The only real question here was, why was it happening whenever she touched Jak?

'Does it have something to do with the Dark Eco in him?' she mused as they crossed the gap and came across an earthen pathway. Three plates of Precursor bronze were trapped by it in an irregular line, and it led to a dead end island with three KG supply boxes.

With nowhere else to go, the three crossed, Jak in front this time. As he stepped onto the island, the pathway began to give way, crumbling beneath Jessie's feet.

"Jak!" she screamed. Before she could join the path in falling to the distant bottom of the ravine, Jak's hand clasped her forearm tightly. The young woman dangled in midair, clinging to his arm for dear life. Slowly, steadily, he began pulling her back up, with Daxter lending a bit of a hand once she got higher and was within the ottsel's reach. The three slumped together at the edge of the island, panting heavily from both the exertion and the near-death experience. Jessie grinned at him feebly.

"See? That's why you go first, Jak," she commented. He gave her an unpleasant look and continued taking deep breaths.

 _Several stressful leaps, many Metal Heads, and one more button later..._

Jessie gunned down about half of the wave of Hoppers that attacked on the final leg of their trek, Jak taking care of the rest. Once they were gone, the three crossed the water using another moving platform and entered the temple in search of the last artifact.

"That's some peeper, huh?" Daxter pointed out, speaking of the clear lens set into the ceiling above and shining a strong light upon the center of the structure. Jessie nodded. That was the last artifact they needed. Now, how to get it down? Jak went onto the dais illuminated by it and mused silently.

Daxter sniffed the air then.

"Something's cooking? Hmm, kinda smells like... burnt ottsel?" he yelped, noticing that his tail was inside the light, and had been slowly igniting. He screamed and began running around the temple, trying to put out the fire that had started on the tip. As he ran, the dais Jak was on rotated, and the lens floated down to him.

Jessie, meanwhile, had caught Daxter and rushed him over to the edge of the temple, dunking his lower half into the water around them with a hiss. He sighed in relief, and Jessie brought him back to Jak, water dripping onto the metal around them. Jak's communicator activated and flew out of his pack, and a familiar voice began speaking.

"Aaaaawrk! I can't believe you three actually did this thing. Onin says she will search the timelines for answers about these sacred relics. I will find you here," Pecker informed them. Jessie sighed and looked down, scanning the words stamped into the dais; the young woman chuckled at what she saw.

"What's so funny?" the blond asked. She pointed at them.

"Read that."

Jak stood in the center and turned as he read the words.

"You... are... getting... really... dizzy? What the hell?" he said, giving her an incredulous look. Jessie shrugged.

"Apparently, the Precursors had a sense of humor. Now, that's the last artifact. We're done here," she announced, leading the way out of the temple. A platform had appeared against the ground outside, and they used it to return to the first real temple, where they found Pecker waiting. The artifacts were handed over, he flew off, and the three began the trek back to the city.

As they passed the door from earlier, Jak paused.

"Where does this lead?" he asked. Jessie stopped and turned, then shrugged.

"No idea. Now, come on. I'm sick of this place." She continued on to the elevator. Jak gave the door one last look, then joined her. They returned to the city wall, went into the airlock, and stepped back into the city's polluted air once the inner door opened.

* * *

Jamie hummed as he tinkered with the display of an old NYFE racer, carefully unscrewing it and tugging it free of the busted hoverbike it belonged to. Keira had decided that, since their current racer needed a bit of a tuneup, it would be good to get a few of the readings that the newer models just didn't provide, like the lights that indicated how many boosts the racer held.

But the hoverbike wasn't the only thing on his mind. He forced down the fear that welled up inside and cleared his throat.

"So, uh, Keira, would you like to... that is, would you be interested in lunch sometime? Maybe tomorrow?" Jamie asked, glancing at the teal-haired mechanic nearby. Keira looked at him in surprise, but the surprise soon changed to a smile. He could have sworn his heart skipped a beat (though he would rather die than tell Jessie about it), but the Unfilled teenager managed to hold his elation in check.

"Sure! Where should we go?" the young woman replied. Jamie opened his mouth to answer, but a wave of nausea swept over him, a feeling he knew all too well.

A vision was coming.

He slumped to his knees, head spinning, and barely registered Keira's panicked cries. The Unfilled boy was in the throes of a vision, and nothing could break him out of it.

* * *

 _Jessie stood in the Unfilled temple, contemplating the six thrones before her. Her jaw was set firmly – she was determined to do something – and she took a step forward._

 _She suddenly lay on the floor beside the Passionate Throne, the stone pulsating eagerly as a pair of hands used tongs to place her own hand on the seat. Violet light surrounded her, and her veins turned dark as night._

 _A man, his face hidden by shadows, stared down at her balefully. He turned and left the temple, and the Passionate Throne pulsed with what could almost be described as triumph. Even the Eco pedestals beside it seemed more vibrant than before._

* * *

Jamie gasped, surfacing from the flow of time to find himself being supported by Keira's arms. The vision had drained him of energy, leaving him pale and shaky, and his face was stricken with horror at what he had seen.

"What did you see, Jamie? What happened?" Keira asked fearfully. He returned her worried expression with one of his own and fumbled for his communicator, typing frantically into it without bothering to correct the mistakes his shaking fingers made. At the moment, he didn't trust his voice, and someone unwanted might listen in.

'Jessi! Do not g oto teh tempel! Visiin qarned me abot it! Don;t go to the remple!'

Jamie sent the message, breathing a soft sigh of relief as his device let out the cheery beep of a successful attempt. This wasn't the first time a vision like this had struck, and he knew that, if forewarned, it could be prevented or, at the very least, prepared for. Hopefully, he wasn't too late, and Jessie got his message before the scene came to pass.

Hopefully.

* * *

 **Reviews:**

 **UltimateGamer101 (chapter 11, Jul. 6) – Good, good. I only ask because I feel that, since we never do find out what happened to Maia and Gol, there is the possibility that they eventually escape/are freed, and she meets Kor. I don't know why, but even before I read your reasoning, I always paired them in my head. Weird, I know, but what can you do?**

 **Anyways, I shall henceforth refer to the pairing as Koraia. Thanks for the input!**

 **Guest (chapter 11, Jul. 7) – The same could be said of anyone who makes "deals with the devil" *cough* Ariel *cough*. She's desperate to be somewhat independent, and desperate people (and Ecolians) do stupid things to achieve their goals.**

 **JaneValentine007 (chapter 10, Sep. 4) – Heh. I've never actually used a cheat for a game beyond the ones that are provided by the game itself (like the glitch where you can get two Lurker sharks to appear in the Misty Island area), and I'm not sure if my PlayStation would support any. It's old, just like our controllers. We, too, have several broken controllers. Two working ones, with one missing the covers for the analog sticks, and two that have died.**

 **And I know that feeling. I'm still not sure how this happened, but I have two copies of Kingdom Hearts XD I kid you not, I have absolutely no idea where the second one came from. I was just going through our games to sort them out when I noticed that Kingdom Hearts was on the shelf, even though I was sure it was on a different one. So I checked, and boom! Two games.**

 **Wild Cat 214, out!**


	13. Chapter 12: Unwanted

**Author's Notes: The plot thickens even more during this chapter. *cue dramatic music* At this rate, it's gonna be thicker than pea soup. Admittedly, I've never** ** _seen_** **pea soup, but from what I've read, it's really opaque. As a result, there's gonna be a lot of perspective shifts. Sorry if it gets confusing at times.**

 **Also, some minor physical violence between people takes place in this chapter. Not saying who gets involved, just warning you now. It's right near the beginning, so if you don't like that, just skip to the temple scene. You'll know it because Daxter makes one of his typical wrong-moment comments at the end of the first chunk.**

 **Disclaimer: Alas, I can lay no claim to Naughty Dog's franchise, only to my OC's and other additions.**

* * *

 _"_ _I think the moment we learned that the prophecy was about us was when Jessie accidentally touched the Vigorous Throne and wasn't hurt, and when I had my first vision a few weeks later. Our parents were so freaked out when it happened. Mom thought I was having a seizure or something, but nope. Just me seeing Luna break her arm a day before it happened. That was a crazy year, all right." -Jamie Sagai, conversing with the Shadow a few weeks after his recruitment_

* * *

As they walked down the ramp from the security gate, Jessie slowed, her face becoming studiously blank. Jak noticed the reason why as soon as he saw that the Black Orchid had been moved several yards away into one of the farming plots, and was now surrounded by a small gang of people. They were glaring at the three of them—more specifically, they were glaring at Jessie, and giving the two boys more cursory glances.

Jessie kept her face emotionless as they walked up to the group. The men and women closed around the Black Orchid, preventing them from reaching it, and one man stepped forward to give her a condescending sneer. His hair was a deep rust color, similar to Torn's in hue, and his eyes were a dark brown. He was several inches taller than Jak, who was himself a few inches taller than Jessie. The teenage girl's head was level with the man's chest.

"What are you doing here, Unwanted? Shouldn't you be in Kras City with the rest of the damn Empties?" he jeered. The dark-haired girl didn't reply, didn't show any emotion on her face, didn't raise her eyes, just looked at his chest steadily.

"Excuse me. I'd like to get to my zoomer," she said evenly. The man sneered and folded his arms across his chest.

"Well, that's just too damn bad. Why don't you run along, Unwanted? I've taken a liking to this zoomer," he replied, grinning malevolently at her. Jessie didn't speak, but Jak noticed the slight tensing in her shoulders. Before things could get any nastier than they already were, he put an arm between the two in an attempt to separate them.

"How about you just let us get to the zoomer, before someone gets hurt?" Jak suggested. The man snickered, and though Jessie's communicator beeped twice in quick succession, she made no move to take it out.

"Oooh, I'm _soooo_ scared. Looks like you've gotten yourself a little boyfriend to fight your battles. Not so pure after all, are you, little Empty?"

When she remained silent, the man laughed derisively, the other people soon joining in nervously. The blond took some pleasure from them warily eyeing the guns on both their backs. At least they understood the dangers of provoking the three of them.

"Listen here, you Unfilled bitch, no one in this city cares about your damn Ecolites or whatever the hell they're called except you and the other parasites sucking this city dry. Instead of taking Eco away from the people who need it, why don't you all just go fly to the Metal Head Nest and spare the monsters the trouble of hunting you down?" he suggested acidly.

Again, Jessie didn't reply, though Jak could feel the rage radiating from her. The Dark Eco within him rose sympathetically, and he had to tamp it down before things got messy.

It didn't help that, when the man saw her non-reaction, he was aggravated even more.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you, you damn Empty!" he snapped, forcibly taking hold of her jaw and making her face him. She wrenched his hand away, giving him a glare more lethal than concentrated Dark Eco.

The sound as he smacked her echoed around the gardens. Jessie fell to the ground from the force of it, stunned into wide-eyed silence, while her communicator flew from her pocket and landed before the man. He considered it briefly, lifted a foot, and stomped on it with a sneer. The crunch of it breaking seemed to bring Jessie back from wherever she had gone after being slapped, and she slowly rose to her feet.

Eyes wide, he backed away slowly, realizing that he had crossed a line. When Jessie finally looked up at him, the man turned and ran, followed swiftly by his backup.

Jak and Daxter, meanwhile, had been displaying very different reactions as this scene unfolded. Daxter had been gaping in shock, too stunned to form words (a mighty feat indeed). Jak, on the other hand, had been forced to focus even more on keeping his Dark self down, and had been quietly simmering with rage. Even though they hadn't known each other for that long (Precursors, had it really been only a day?) Jessie had still been more accepting of him than most people he had met so far, and considering what he had been through for the past two years, that put her right up there with Daxter and Keira.

Thinking about Keira was not a good idea right now, so Jak veered away from those thoughts and tapped Jessie on the shoulder. The young woman flinched and turned to look at them, her face pale and withdrawn, except for where an angry-looking bruise was forming on her right cheek.

"What was that? Why didn't you fight back? I know you could have taken him," he asked. She ignored him and walked up to the remains of her communicator, kneeling down to gather up the pieces and place them in her pocket.

"I guess I'll have to ask Jamie to fix this," she murmured, going over to the Black Orchid. Both boys stared at her disbelievingly, even as she got on and turned the ignition.

"Can you guys go to the Hideout and see what Torn wants? I need to go. I'll... I'll see ya later," the young woman murmured, racing off before either of them could answer.

They were silent for a few moments. Then Daxter spoke up.

"So, uh, are we walking, or are we catching a lift?"

* * *

Not long after she had abandoned Jak and Daxter to the mercy of the city, Jessie was lying back against the monolith commemorating every Unfilled who had ever died. At some point during the walk, she had donned her robes, the simple gray fabric pooling around her reclining form and draping from her wrists. Sure, they were a little old-fashioned, but it was the uniform for everyone who cared for the temple. Her parents and the other four Vessels had owned the same clothing, and Luna had hers for when she acted as a temple guardian. A part-time one, of course; it was hard to present offerings when you were out of the city, and so Jessie took over whenever Luna was gone.

Sighing, Jessie leaned forward and pressed her face into her arms, where they laid folded across her knees. The growing bruise on her face twinged, reminding her of earlier. That sort of scene was all too common nowadays. So many people hated the Unfilled for the tax on Eco crystals – a valuable fuel source that many needed for their zoomers and other hovercraft – even though it hadn't been their fault. It was really no surprise that some people lashed out at them.

'Why do people blame us for the tax? We never wanted it. If anyone should be blamed, it's Praxis,' she mused resentfully. Jessie clenched her jaw. That's right. It was Praxis's damn fault her people suffered right now. That was why she joined the Underground, to get back at him for what he did. That, and because the Shadow had saved her life that day.

That fateful day.

She stood up, smoothing her robes down, and walked into the temple. Onin was right. She had to take up the mantle of her parents' legacies, the duties of the Vessels before her. So what if she wasn't the appropriate age? Her people were hurting without a leader, without a voice in the government, and she had the power to help them. She knew she did; that day had proven it. Tradition be damned! She was sick of obeying tradition and hurting her people.

Jessie walked forward, closer to the thrones, and that was when something hard and unyielding hit the back of her head. She crumpled to the floor, never seeing her assailant. But he wasn't done with her.

* * *

The two men dragged Jessie's limp form further into the temple, dropping her arms when she lay in front of the Passionate Throne, all done under the watchful gaze of the one who arranged this. Carefully picking up one wrist with tongs of Precursor bronze, they placed her hand on the seat and leapt back, trying to avoid any runaway Eco surge from her contact. They and their employer watched – the employees with horrified fascination, and the employer with satisfaction – as her veins shifted from pale blue under her skin to a deep, almost black purple. Brighter purple surrounded her in some sort of aura, and the two men stayed far away from her while she glowed and breathed with difficulty. Finally, her veins returned to their original color, and Jessie breathed normally again, the glow fading from her body.

"Is it okay to touch her now?" one man said nervously. He had never been inside the temple of the Unfilled, and was understandably wary of any consequences of his intrusion. Their employer nodded once, his face partially hidden by the shadows of the alcove he had been standing in, and the man who had spoken used the tongs to remove her hand from the throne made of opaque, multicolored gemstone. When she was clear of the seat, they dragged her back to the entrance, rearranging her so that she looked as she had when they knocked her out.

"Thank you, my good men," the man who had sought their services said with the well-spoken, smooth voice of a nobleman. The two other men, with their drab clothing and coarser manner, shared a look and stared at him.

"M'lord, why'd you have us go muckin' about with the Unfilled? They're spooky, with their talk of livin' Eco and the state of the planet," the second man asked, unnerved by the temple. The pedestals emitting Eco near each throne cast strange shadows on everything, and the murals almost seemed alive, if that were possible.

The lord chuckled coldly. "Because the Ecolians demand it. With her tainted by the Dark Ecolian cardinal, Umbra, she will never be able to become the Lodestar Vessel she claims to be. Lumina has assured me this is so," he replied condescendingly. "And then I can take my rightful place as the Vessel for Lumina."

The two men said nothing in reply; instead, they bowed, accepted the piece of plastic that held their payment in credits, and left as quickly as they dared. Unfilled rites and traditions were uncharted lands to them. They didn't question his statement.

The man they left behind spared Jessie one last withering glance before leaving, turning to look at the Serene Throne in longing just before he pushed past the curtain and exited the temple.

* * *

Inside the Fortress, Luna waited patiently to speak with her employer. As the Air Train pilot, she would have a set route, and she wanted to be sure of her orders. She may not technically have been part of the Krimzon Guard, but she was getting her paycheck from them, and she didn't want to screw things up. The last thing she needed was to be fired for incompetence.

At last, she reached the front of the line, and was handed a small device which contained her instructions and the codes needed to enter and exit the city. Luna thanked the clerk quickly and left, fingering the device in her pocket gingerly. Now that she was the pilot for the Air Train, she could help the Underground some more. Under the guise of "shuttling passengers," of course.

While she walked out of the Fortress's civilian entrance, her com-unit began a fast-paced melody. Luna smiled, recognizing the tune, and accepted the call.

"Yes, Jamie?" she said calmly.

"Um, is this Luna Zyan?" a girl's voice said from the other end. The red-eyed woman froze, her face paling.

"Who is this? Why do you have Jamie's communicator?" she replied coldly, stepping into an alleyway and away from prying eyes and ears.

"I'm Keira. He told me to call you and tell you that Jessie's in trouble," the girl informed her worriedly. Luna's eyes widened in horror.

"What? Where is she?"

"He had a vision. Something about the temple, and Jessie, and something called the Passionate Throne. Jamie tried messaging her, but when she didn't reply, he asked me to call you," Keira explained, her voice rising in pitch. The red-eyed woman knew of this girl (Jamie's crush on her had been relayed by Jessie), but had never formally met her; her pilot duties had kept them from meeting, and she never went to the Stadium district often enough to see the teal-haired girl.

"Got it. Tell Jamie I'm going," she declared, ending the call and racing to her zoomer.

Luna drove like a madwoman through the streets of Haven City, narrowly avoiding several collisions and receiving several shouted curses from the other drivers. She didn't care. Jessie, her best friend, her most cherished friend, almost a third sister to her, was in trouble.

Barely two minutes had passed before she pulled up at the base of the temple ramp and vaulted out of her seat. Up the ramp, she went, boots pounding against the concrete and steel of the weathered structure. She was nearly driven out of her mind by the slowness of the security gate, shifting from one foot to another urgently in her impatience.

At last, it let her leave the city, and Luna raced down the shadowed path leading through the narrow base of the canyon to the Grotto of Whispering Secrets.

The grassy, circular place was at the end of the cliff, where an ancient spring had once bubbled up to feed the river that had carved the canyon. The spring had dried up long ago – some claimed the Azura of that time had siphoned its waters into another river – but the influence of the Ecolians was still strong. Even now, she could hear the faint voices of the beings keeping the grass and flowers alive—the source of the name "Grotto of Whispering Secrets." Some said their speech was what drew Gemini to this place, and why they arranged for the temple to be constructed here, of all places.

At the moment, however, Luna couldn't really give a damn about why they chose this place. She ignored the soft voices of the Green Eco-quan and burst through the curtain, almost tripping over Jessie's prone form in her haste to rescue the Lodestar Vessel.

"Jessie? Jessie!" she cried out, shaking her shoulder in desperation. The dark-haired girl moaned softly and feebly opened her eyes.

"Owwww... Luna? What are you doing here?" Jessie asked, wincing as she sat up and rubbed the back of her head. "And why does my head feel like crap?"

Luna sighed in relief and sat back on her heels, running her hands through her unusual hair.

"Oh, thank the Precursors. What are you doing here? Didn't you get Jamie's message?" she asked worriedly. The younger teenager gave her a bemused expression.

"That was from Jamie? I thought it was from Torn."

"Didn't you read it?"

"I never got the chance to. That bastard that keeps pestering me and Jamie crushed it before I could see who it was from, let alone read it." Jessie recapped an event that had apparently taken place a few minutes before she went to the Unfilled temple, much to Luna's dismay.

"Oh, Jessie..." the older of the two murmured, taking her into her arms.

"What? It's not like I asked him to break it. What's with the 'Oh, Jessie...'?" she snapped bemusedly. Luna merely patted her head comfortingly and shushed her whenever she tried to say anything else.

 _A few minutes of awkward hugging later..._

Luna supported Jessie with an arm under her shoulder, helping her hobble back to Haven City. The head injury the younger girl had sustained had weakened her more than she thought, and even now, the red-eyed woman could tell something was different. She wasn't a (part-time) temple guardian for nothing. Having shown aptitude for both Light and Dark Ecolians, she was more sensitive than others to their presence. There was also her family's history to consider, but that wasn't important. Even without it, she could feel that there was something off about Jessie, and it had to do with the Passionate Throne. Try as she might, though, Luna just couldn't figure out what.

And that worried her most of all.

* * *

Jamie downed the glass of water in one go, panting for air afterwards. He cast a grateful look Keira's way and placed the empty glass on the floor.

"Thanks. I needed that," he murmured. The young woman sat beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Jamie, what's wrong? What did you see?" Keira asked. He shook his head bitterly.

"Jessie was in trouble. But Luna should be able to get to her in time. Thank you for calling her," the young Unfilled man replied, smiling weakly. She nodded.

"Any time. Now, you have a few things to tell me. What did you mean when you mentioned Jessie's 'other job'? I thought she only worked with us," the woman inquired suspiciously. Jamie winced. Guess it was time to tell her. He had known this day would come eventually; he had just hoped it would be later, rather than sooner.

"Okay, but you have to promise this stays between us," he said vehemently. Keira nodded again and leaned in closer. Jamie looked around, checking to be sure no KG (or, Precursors forbid, Erol) were near, and took a deep breath.

"Keira, Jessie and I... we're part of the Underground. All those times you've teased Jessie for watching Erol's team, all those times you asked me why I was so fussy about our communicators, it's because they were us doing our job. We didn't want you getting mixed up in this mess of a war. We were... _I_ was... trying to protect you. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, but it's nowhere near as sorry as I'd be if you were arrested because the Baron or the KG thought you knew something about the Underground."

When he finished, the two were silent for several minutes. Jamie began to fear that Keira would outright reject him. She had always been an honest person. Learning that she had been lied to by both him and Jessie might be too much of a wrongdoing for her, and he didn't want to lose what friendship they had. Keira was one of the few people in Haven City he trusted to keep his visions secret; the others were Jessie, Uncle Jinx, Torn, and the Shadow. Hardly any of the Unfilled remaining knew of his powers; those that did kept their mouths shut about it, out of the kinship that had arisen after the Great Purge.

Eventually, Keira took a deep breath. He braced himself for what was coming, tensing up and closing his eyes.

"Jamie... how can I help?"

Jamie's eyes flashed open out of surprise. He looked at her, startled.

"Keira?" the young man asked uncertainly, not sure if he had heard her right.

"I want to help. You and Jessie, you've always been there for me, ever since I first came here. You gave me a home when I had nowhere else to go. You helped me find a job so I could take care of myself. I won't join the Underground—that's too dangerous for me. But I want to repay you guys in any way I can. Just say the word," she explained earnestly.

Jamie stared at her, disbelief slowly being replaced by joy. The honest smile on her face made him unconsciously grin back, and he nodded eagerly.

"Thank you, Keira. You have no idea how happy I am to hear that."

* * *

Jak and Daxter walked into the Hideout grumpily. A little fender bender with a KG hoverbike had resulted in a hairy chase through most of the industrial district, and there were fresh singe marks on Jak's tunic and pants. Even Daxter had almost gotten his fur scorched.

"And what are you two doing back without your superior?" Torn growled suspiciously. The two boys shared a slightly bemused look.

"Jessie left us on the street so she could go somewhere on her own, but she told us to check in with you about a message she got a few minutes ago," Daxter explained. Torn's brow crumpled in thought.

"I didn't send her any message. Are you sure it was from the Underground?" he asked incredulously, giving them a suspicious look.

"Jessie seemed to think so. We never actually got to see it ourselves, since her communicator was destroyed moments later," Jak replied, shrugging. That seemed to shock him out of his usual grumpy attitude.

"What?! Destroyed? How?" Tattooed Wonder demanded fiercely. The demolition duo shared a startled look, and Jak motioned for Daxter to answer.

"There was this mob, or something. One guy kept getting in Jessie's face, and he stomped on her communicator. Called her some weird names that I _think_ were nasty, going by her reaction," the ottsel informed him.

"She didn't even get mad, though. Just took it, for some reason," his blond ride added. Torn scowled and thought for a few moments.

"Let me guess. Hair like mine, dark eyes, about yea tall?" the Underground commander inquired, holding up a hand a few inches above Jak's head. They both nodded; that description matched what they remembered of him.

"That's the one," the blond added unnecessarily. Torn huffed in exasperation and folded his arms in front of him.

"Hmph. Figures. His name's Deryk. Big supporter of the Baron, and a real Unfilled hater. He's been getting on Jessie and Jamie's case for years," he revealed in his usual grim manner. Jak scowled and shifted his weight.

"If she knows him, why doesn't Jessie do something about him?" he replied derisively, earning yet another of Torn's death glares. He slammed his palm against the table.

"Because she can't risk it! The Baron doesn't like the Unfilled already. Hearing that one of his supporters got beaten up by someone of her prominence could be a death sentence for the rest of them."

The three stood in uncomfortable silence at this declaration. The two younger boys still weren't entirely sure why being Unfilled was such a big deal, or why the Baron didn't like them, but they now knew why Jessie hadn't stood up to this Deryk guy. It wasn't just a matter of whether she could have taken him down. There was more at stake than just her.

"What's with the names he was calling her? See, I can get how Unwanted's an insult, but Empty? That's not much of an insult," Daxter inquired, breaking the silence. The rust-haired man grunted condescendingly and folded his arms across his chest again.

"it is if you know where it comes from. Empty's a shortening of a real nasty name for the Unfilled. Jessie wouldn't tell you this, because it's too insulting to say, even for her, but historically, a rude term for an Unfilled is an Empty One. Unfilled is used more for description than as an actual name."

"And you know this how? I doubt you're Unfilled as well," Jak scoffed drily. Torn smirked and pulled out his crescent-shaped dagger, idly admiring its gleaming surface.

"The Sagai twins aren't the only Unfilled fighters in the Underground. The Shadow makes it a point to ensure we all get along and treat each other like equals," he replied, pointing the tip at each of them before sheathing it once more.

"Oh, yeah? Then what about all the crappy jobs you've been giving us?" Daxter retorted indignantly.

"You aren't Unfilled, so I don't have to be nice to you. Now beat it. You two should go talk to Jessie. Tell her I'm giving you the rest of the day off. And keep your noses clean. If you have another scuffle with the KG like you did earlier, it's gonna be a lot harder for her to teach you useful skills," the older man warned, turning his back so he could go over what was probably important mission stuff. The dynamic duo shared an irritated look and left the Hideout. It was only when Jak had gotten hold of a zoomer that they realized something.

With Jessie's com-unit broken, how were they supposed to contact her?

* * *

 **Hello, Review!**

 **UltimateGamer101 (chapter 12, Dec. 7) – That's actually really cool! The idea of darkness being attracted to darkness does make sense, considering that Jak gets most of his Dark abilities in the Wasteland, and there's plenty of dark stuff out there. To add to your theory, the Dark Satellites that ended up in Haven City right before Damas showed up were probably called by the Dark Makers' assault (oh look, more darkness).**


End file.
